ILLINOIS  STATE  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY 


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ILLINOIS 
STATE  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY 


BULLETIN   NO.    15 


Geography  of  the  Middle 
Illinois  Valley 


BY 


Harlan  H.  Barrows 


Urbana 

University  of  Illinois 

1910 


SPRINGFIELD,  ILL. 
Illinois  State  Journal  Co.,  State  Printers 
1910. 


STATE  GEOLOGICAL  COMMISSION 


Governor  Charles  S.  Deneen,  Chairman. 
Professor  T.  C.  Chamberlin,  Vice-Chairman. 
President  Edmund  J.  James,  Secretary. 


Frank  W.  DeWolf,  Acting  Director. 

E.  D.   Salisbury,   Consul  tiny   Geologist,  in  charge  of  the  preparation 
of  Educational  Bulletins. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


Page 

List  of  illustrations VIII 

Letter  of  transmittal XI 

CHAPTER    I-THE  PHYSIOGRAPHIC   FEATURES  OF  THE   REGION. 

The  area  included  in  the  report 1 

The  Illinois  basin  and  valley 1 

Variable  width  of  the  valley 1 

The  river  and  its  flood-plain 3 

Alluvial  fans 8 

Terraces 11 

The  bluffs 12 

The  upland 13 

The  small  valleys 1 

The  clay  ridges 14 

Summary 15 

CHAPTER  II-THE  BED  ROCKS  OF  THE  REGION. 

Distribution  of  outcrops 16 

Influence  on  topography , 16 

Economic  importance 16 

Characteristics  and  origin  of  the  sandstone 17 

The  shale  and  its  formation 18 

The  limestone 18 

The  coal 18 

Geographic  changes  recorded  by  exposed  rocks 19 

Older  formations 20 

Lower  Magnesian  limestone 21 

St.  Peters  sandstone 21 

Trenton- Galena  limestone 21 

Cincinnati  shales 22 

Niagara  limestone 22 

Devonian  shales  and  limestones 22 

Time  involved 22 

Uplift  and  erosion 22 

CHAPTER  III-THE  GLACIAL  PERIOD. 

The  mantle  rock  of  the  area  of  foreign  derivation 25 

The  transporting  agent 26 

The  glaciation  of  the  region  complex 26 

The  formation  of  glaciers 28 

The  Illinoian  stage  of  glaciation 29 

Stratified  drift... 32 

The  effect  of  the  Illinoian  glaciation  upon  topography 33 

The  Sangamon  interglacial  epoch 34 

The  Iowan  loess 34 

The  Peorian  interglacial  epoch 35 

The  Shelby  ville  ice  sheet 36 


VI 

Table  of  Con  tents— Continued. 

Page 

TheBloomington  ice  sheet 38 

Valley  trains 39 

Development  of  terraces  from  valley  trains 40 

Outwash  from  the  ice  edge  at  Peoria 43 

Filling  of  tributary  valleys -. 44 

Outwash  from  the  ice  edge  near  Chillicothe 45 

Possible  outwash  from  the  ice  edge  near  Henry 45 

Outwash  from  the  ice  edge  east  of  DePue 46 

Outwash  from  points  beyond  area  of  report 46 

Development  of  the  lower  terraces 47 

The  Chicago  Outlet 47 

Wisconsin  loess 48 

CHAPTER  IV-POST-GLACIAL  CHANGES. 

Introduction 50 

Conditions  affecting  erosion 50 

Wind  work 51 

Work  of  running  water  53 

Aggradation  by  the  Illinois  river 53 

Flood- plain  lakes 55 

History  of  the  small  valleys 56 

Beginning  of  the  valleys 56 

Origin  ot  the  streams 56 

The  deepening  of  valleys 57 

The  widening  of  valleys 57 

The  lengthening  of  valleys 58 

Struggle  for  existence  among  ravines 59 

Tributary  valleys 60 

Stages  in  valley  development 60 

Influence  of  Illinois  river  upon  configuration  of  small  valleys 61 

Building  of  alluvial  fans 61 

Changes  in  stream  courses 62 

Other  post-glacial  changes 63 

CHAPTER  V-THE  SETTLEMENT  AND  DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  REGION. 

Introduction 64 

Southern  pioneers 64 

New  England  pioneers 68 

Causes  of  emigration  from  New  England 68 

Principal  routes  to  the  Illinois  valley. 68 

Numbers 71 

Northern  pioneers  dominate  area 74 

Distribution  of  early  population 76 

Influence  of  navigable  streams .' 76 

Influence  of  bottom  lands  and  terraces 76 

Influence  of  woodland  and  prairie 77 

Conquest  of  the  small  prairie 79 

Conditions  of  pioneer  life 80 

Early  privations 80 

Products 80 

Fences 81 

Mills 81 

Prices  and  markets 82 

River  towns  and  trade 83 

Physiographic  conditions  indicate  town  sites 83 

Short  lived  river  towns 84 

River  towns  precede  inland  towns 84 

Early  history  of  Peoria 84 

Advent  of  steamboat  and  development  of  river  towns 85 


vu 


Table  of  Contents — Concluded. 


Page 

Peoria  becomes  leading  town  on  Illinois  river 88 

Period  of  supremacy  of  sleamboat 91 

Illinois- Michigan  Canal 92 

Physiographic  processes  make  canal  feasible 92 

Development  of  project 93 

Results  expected  from  canal 93 

Opening  of  canal 93 

Early  traffic 94 

Influence  upon  the  course  of  trade 97 

Influence  of  Illinois  river  and  canal  upon  population  and  products  of  region 99 

Decline  of  river  and  canal  commerce 99 

Rate  and  extent 99 

*  Causes  100 

Effect  upon  river  towns 104 

\ttempts  to  improve  navigation  of  Illinois  river 103 

Railroads  and  the  settlement  of  the  great  prairies 107 

I  nfluence  of  river  and  canal  on  railroad  rates 108 

I  )e\  elopment  of  manufactures  1C9 

r'arly  industries. 109 

Slaughtering  and  meat  packing 1C9 

Manufacture  of  flour 110 

Manufacture  of  whiskey Ill 

The  great  Peoria  industries Ill 

Advantages  of  Peoria  as  industrial  center Ill 

Corn  products 114 

Agricultural  implements a 116 

Slaughtering  and  meat  packing  116 

Other  industries 117 

Manufacturing  outside  Peoria 118 

Existing  agricultural  conditions 118 

Products 118 

Water  supply , 118 

The  distribution  of  land  values 119 

Hennepin  Canal 120 

Tne  Deep  Waterway 121 

Summary 124 


VIII 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Facing 
Plates.  Page 

Frontispiece—  Illinois  valley,  looking  north  from  Prospect  Heights,  Peoria I 

1.  (A)  Alluvial  fan 10 

(B)  Small  terrace  in  valley  of  Farm  creek 10 

2.  Map  showing  small  valleys  southeast  of  Peoria 12 

3.  (A)  View  of  Illinois  valley  north  of  Peoria,  showing  terraces  and  bluffs  of  east  side..  14 
(B)  View  of  Illinois  valley  north  of  Peoria,  showing  terrace  and  lower  bluffs  of 

west  side II 

4.  (A)  Low  bluffs  of  gentle  slope  north  of  Bureau 16 

(B)  Depositional  slope  developed  by  rain  wash 16 

5.  (A)  Exposure  of  Pennsylvanian  rocks  in  Rowe's  Hollow,  southwest  of  Henry 18 

(B)  Exposure  of  Pennsylvanian  rock  in  Kickapoo  valley  near  Peoria 18 

6.  (A)  Alaskan  glacier  and  its  deposits 26 

(B)  Kxposure  of  till  near  Henry 26 

7.  Glaciated  stones 28 

8.  (A)  Morainic  topography  in  northern  part  of  area 36 

(B)  Exposure  of  loess 36 

9.  Exposure  of  material  in  a  valley  train,  showing  structure  of  beds 40 

10.  Exposure  of  loess  at  mouth  of  Hicks' Hollow,  southwest  of  Chillicothe 48 

11.  (A)  Sand  dune  advancing  into  Meyers  Lake,  near  Pekin 52 

(B)  Depression  in  wind-blown  sand  near  Pekin,  containing  pond 52 

12.  (A)  Meandering  stream 56 

(B)  Meandering  stream  and  ox-bow  lake 56 

13.  ( A )  Gully  and  fan  near  Lacon 58 

(B)  Widening  of  a  valley  by  lateral  erosion  of  its  stream 58 

14.  (A)  The  widening  of  a  valley  by  slumping 60 

(B)  Creep  on  a  ravine  side  shown  by  leaning  trees 60 

15.  (A)  Struggle  for  existence  among  ravines 62 

(B)  Map  showing  stream  piracy  east  of  Chillicothe 62 

15.            Type  of  early  home  in  Illinois  valley 80 

Figures. 
Figure  Page 

1.  Index  map •'••  2 

2.  Map  of  Illinois  river  system 3 

3.  Map  showing  general  distribution  of  leading  features  of  region 5 

4.  Profile  of  Illinois  river 7 

5.  Profile  of  Wabash  river 7 

6.  Profile  of  section  of  Ohio  river 7 

7.  Profile  of  section  of  Mississippi  river 7 

8.  Diagram  showing  natural  levees 8 

9.  Map  showing  flood-plain  lakes  near  Henry 9 

10.  Diagram  showing  structure  of  river  deposits 10 

11.  Diagram  showing  a  flood-plain,  terrace,  and  upland,  and  their  relation  to  one  another  11 

12.  Diagram  to  illustrate  reduction  of  bluffs  by  slope  wash 13 

13.  Cross  section  of  Illinois  valley  at  Peoria 13 

14.  Profile  showing  irregular  topography  occaaioned  by  small  valleys H 


List  of  Illustrations — Concluded, 


Figure  Page 

15.  Section  of  rock  formations  of  northern  portion  of  region,  penetrated  by  deep  borings.  21 

16.  Map  showing  portion  of  pre-glacial  rock— I llinois  river  system 24 

17.  Diagram  showing  relation  of  residual  soil  to  underlying  rock 25 

18.  Diagram  showing  relation  of  drift  to  underlying  rock 26 

19.  Map  showing  maximum  extent  of  ice  sheets  of  Glacial  period  in  North  America —  27 

20.  Glacial  map  of  Illinois 31 

21.  Diagram  illustrating  how  rough  pre-glacial  topography  may  be  replaced  by  smooth 

surfaces  through  the  deposition  of  drift 33 

22.  Sketch  of  terminal  moraine  topography 37 

23.  Diagram  of  a  valley  train 39 

24.  Map  of  a  braided  river 40 

25.  Diagram  showing  terraces  developed  by  a  river  sinking  its  'channel  into  a  valley 

train 41 

26.  Diagram  showing  how  a  river  may  destroy  terraces  by  side  cutting 41 

27.  Diagram  illustrating  development  of  terraces  by  a  slowly  degrading  river  which 

shifts  from  side  to  side  of  its  valley  . .  42 

28.  Diagram  illustrating  two  sets  of  terraces,  developed  from  aggradational  rlats 42 

29.  Diagram  to  illustrate  relations  of  terraces  of  unequal  height  to  one  another 42 

30.  Sketch  showing  how  wind-blown  sand  accumulates  about  an  impenetrable  obstacle.  51 

31 .  Cross  section  of  a  dune 52 

32.  Profile  of  Dry  Run  creek,  east  of  Chillicothe 61 

33.  Map  showing  distribution  and  density  of  population  in  Illinois  in  1820 65 

34.  Map  showing  distribution  and  density  of  population  in  Illinois  in  1830 67 

35.  Map  showing  distribution  of  prairie  and  woodland  in  Illinois 69 

36.  Map  showing  distribution  and  density  of  population  in  Illinois  in  1840 72 

37.  Map  showing  distribution  and  density  of  population  in  Illinois  in  1850 73 

38.  Map  showing  distribution  and  density  of  population  in  Illinois  in  1860 75 

39.  Map  showing  original  distribution  of  woodland  and  prairie  in  Bureau  county —  79 

40.  Map  showing  roads  of  Illinois  in  1832 89 

41.  Graph  showing  tolls  collected  by  Illinois  and  Michigan  canal  from  1848  to  1907 101 

42.  Graph  showing  tons  transported  on  Illinois  and  Michigan  canal  from  1849  to  1907 101 

43.  Map  showing  railroads  of  Illinois  in  1850 103 

44.  Map  showing  railroads  of  Illinois  in  1860 1( 3 

45.  Map  showing  the  yield  of  corn  per  acre  throughout  Illinois 112 

46.  Map  showing  the  percentage  of  the  total  area  which  is  devoted  to  corn  culture 

throughout  Illinois 113 

47.  Map  showing  route  of  Hennepin  canal 120 


B    (i 


XI 


LETTER  OF  TRANSMITTAL. 


State  Geological  Survey. 
University  of  Illinois,  March  22,  1910. 

Hon.  C.  S.  Deneen,  Chairman,  and  Members  of  the  Geological  Commis- 
sion: 

Gentlemen — I  submit  herewith  a  report  on  the  Geography  of  the 
Middle  Illinois  Valley,  with  the  recommendation  that  it  be  published 
as  Bulletin  No.  15  of  the  Survey.  This  is  the  fifth  contribution  to 
our  series  of  "Educational  Bulletins"  prepared  under  the  general  direc- 
tion of  Professor  E.  D.  Salisbury,  Consulting  Geologist  of  the  Survey. 
Professor  Harlan  H.  Barrows,  the  author,  has  based  this  report  on 
field  work  in  1906-07  along  the  Illinois  river  between  Peoria  and  Henne- 
pin. He  has  also  drawn  on  his  extended  experience  at  the  University  of 
Chicago  in  teaching  and  research  work  on  problems  of  community  de- 
velopment as  affected  by  environment.  The  main  physiographic  features 
of  this  region,  which  impress  all  close  observers,  are  first  described  and 
interpreted.  This  is  followed  by  a  study  of  the  rocks,  including  as 
they  do  valuable  beds  of  coal,  shale,  limestone  and  water-bearing  sand- 
stone. Other  chapters  reveal,  in  the  history  of  the  glacial  period,  the 
sequence  of  events  in  this  area  which  account  for  the  present  physio- 
graphy. A  final  chapter  of  most  interesting  historical  character  de- 
scribes the  settlement  and  development  of  the  Peoria-Hennepin  region 
from  the  time  of  the  pioneers  who  emigrated  from  the  South  and  from 
Xew  England.  The  distribution  of  the  early  population,  its  conquest 
of  adverse  conditions  and  final  development  into  a  community  of  great 
interests,  is  skillfully  traced. 

Of  timely  interest  is  the  history  of  the  Illinois-Michigan  canal  and 
the  discussion  of  the  conditions  which  brought  about  its  rise  and  de- 
cline. The  Hennepin  canal  is  also  described.  Finally,  the  writer  re- 
views the  factors  affecting  the  Deep  Waterway  movement. 

General  readers  and  particularly  teachers  and  students  residing  in 
the  area  under  discussion  will  have  a  clearer  understanding  of  the  home 
region  after  reading  this  report  and  noting  its  numerous  illustrations. 
But,  in  addition,  all  students  of  Illinois  history  and  of  modern  geography 
will  find  the  report  extremely  helpful. 


XII 

The  author  has  acknowledged  the  use  of  a  number  of  illustrations 
and  of  the  reports  of  Mr.  Frank  Leverett  and  others  of  the  TJ.  S. 
Geological  Survey,  and  of  Mr.  Lyman  E.  Cooley.  The  Survey  expresses 
its  thanks  to  these  gentlemen  and  to  the  author  of  the  report  and  to 
Professor  Salisbury  for  his  supervision. 

Yery  respectfully, 

Frank  W.  DeWolf, 

Acting  Director. 


STATE   GEOLOGICAL   SURVEY 


Bull.  No.  15,  Frontispiece. 


GEOGRAPHY  OF  THE  MIDDLE  ILLINOIS 
VALLEY. 

( By  Harlan  h  .  Barrows.) 

CHAPTER  I. 


THE  PHYSIOGRAPHIC  FEATURES  OF  THE  REGION. 

The  area  included  hi  the  report. — This  report  seeks  to  explain  the 
principal  geographic  features  of  the  Illinois  valley  and  vicinity  between 
Hennepin  and  Pekin,  and  discusses  the  influence  of  geographic  condi- 
tions in  the  historical  development  of  the  region.  The  location  of  the 
principal  places  referred  to  in  the  text  is  shown  on  the  index  map, 
Figure  1.  In  the  preparation  of  the  report  earlier  discussions  of  the 
region  were  freely  drawn  upon,  particularly  those  of  Leverett1  and 
Cooley.2  The  topographic  maps  of  the  area,  published  by  the  United 
tes  Geological  Survey,  should  be  used  in  connection  with  the  report, 
and  are  indispensible  for  local  field  study.3 

The  Illinois  basin  and  valley. — The  basin  of  the  Illinois  river  and  its 
tributaries  is  shown  in  Figure  2.  It  is  32,081  square  miles  in  extent, 
over  one-half  the  size  of  the  State.  The  Illinois  river  is  formed  by 
the  union  of  the  Des  Plaines  and  Kankakee  rivers,  some  forty-five  miles 
southwest  of  Chicago.  Flowing  to  the  westward  for  fifty  miles,  it  bends 
sharply  to  the  south  near  Hennepin,  and  takes  a  southwesterly  course 
to  t:  ssippi  river,  about  forty  miles  above  St.  Louis.     The  great 

bend  at  Hennepin  is  one  of  the  striking  features  of  the  river,  and 
divides  it  naturally  into  two  sections,  the  Upper  and  Lower  Illinois. 
The  river  is  about  three  hundred  fifty  miles  in  length. 

The  valley  of  the  Illinois  river  is  the  most  conspicuous  topographic 
feature  within  the  State,  and  stream  and  valley  have  influenced  the  his- 
tory and  development  of  Illinois  in  important  ways.  For  these  reasons, 
and  because  certain  peculiarities  of  the  lower  Illinois  render  it  unique 
among  rivers,  the  region  is  one  of  particular  interest. 

Variable  width  of  (lie  valley. — The  floor  of  the  valley,  within  the  area 
with  which  this  report  is  concerned,  lies  150  to  250  or  more  feet  below 
the  upland  plain  in  which  it  is  cut,  and  is  usually  bordered  by  steep 


1  Monograph  38.  d.  s.  Geol.  Surv. 

-  Lakes  and  Gulf  Waterway. 

3  The  following  maps  cov<t  the  area  under  discussion:   Hennepin.  Lacon,  Metamora,  Dunlap,  and 
Peoria.    They  cosl  five  cents  each,  and  may  he  obtained  from  the  Director,  U.  S.  Geol.  Surv.,  V 
ington,  D.C. 


THE    MIDDLE    ILLINOIS    VALLEY. 


[BULL.    NO.  15 


bluffs.  Relatively  narrow  sections  of  the  valley  in  the  vicinity  of 
Peoria,  north  and  south  of  Lacon,  and  just  above  the  great  bend  near 
Hennepin,  alternate  with  far  broader  stretches.  The  minimum  width 
is  one  and  one-third  miles,  near  the  northern  end  of  the  city  of  Peoria; 
the  maximum  is  over  seven  and  one-half  miles,  in  the  vicinity  of  Chilli- 
cothe.     This  great  and  irregular  variation  in  width  puts  the  Illinois 


Fig.  1.    Index  map  showing  towns,  and  quadrangles,  and  the  area  covered  by  this  report. 


valley  in  striking  contrast  with  most  river  valleys,  which  widen  some- 
what regularly  down  stream. 

The  characteristics  of  the  valley  floor  may  be  described  under  the 
headings  (1)  river  and  flood-plain,  (2)  alluvial  fans,  (3)  terraces 
(Pig.  3). 


BARROWS.] 


PHYSIOGRAPHIC    FEATURES. 


The  river  and  its  flood-plain. — The  lower  Illinois  presents  a  second 
peculiarity  in  its  remarkably  gentle  fall.  Figure  4  shows  the  profile  of 
the  river,  and  Figures  5,  6,  and  7  show,  by  way  of  contrast,  the  profile 


Fig.  2.    Map  of  Illinois  river  system.    (U.S.  Geol.  Surv.) 

of  the  Wabash  river,  a  portion  of  that  of  the  Ohio,  and  a  section  of  the 
Mississippi,  extending  above  and  below  the  mouth  of  the  Illinois.     The 


4  THE    MIDDLE    ILLINOIS    VALLEY.  [bull.  no.  15 

low  slope  of  the  Illinois  shown  by  the  curve  is  perhaps  more  strikingly 
indicated  in  the  following  table  prepared  by  Leverett,  giving  distances 
and  rates  of  fall  between  Pern  and  Pekin. 

Rate  of  fall- 
Inches  per  mile. 


Peru  to  Hennepin 13 . 6  1.5 

Hennepin  to  Henry 13 . 5  1 .  07 

Henry  to  Chillicothe 13.3  0.55 

Chillicothe  to  Peoria 18.3  0.26 

Peoria  to  Pekin 10 . 7  1.8 

The  average  fall  between  Hennepin  and  Pekin,  a  distance  of  55.8 
miles,  is  0.82  inch  per  mile. 

The  Illinois  is  a  river  of  relatively  insignificant  volume.  Its  natural 
low-water  discharge  (the  lowest  is  about  500  cubic  feet  per  second  at 
LaSalle)  is  less  than  that  of  the  Eock  river  and  but  a  small  fraction  of 
that  of  the  upper  Mississippi  and  Ohio  rivers.  The  nearly  level 
channel  and  the  small  volume  result  in  a  very  sluggish  river,  which 
has  been  described  as  a  stream  that  "more  nearly  resembles  the  Great 
Lakes,  than  an  ordinary  river,"  and  again  as  one  that  "partakes  more 
of  the  nature  of  an  estuary  than  of  a  river."1  It  is  wholly  unequal  to 
the  task  of  washing  forward  the  sediment  delivered  by  its  headwaters 
and  its  numerous  tributaries,  many  of  which  flow  in  steep-floored  val- 
leys. The  deposition  of  this  material  has  developed  a  number  of  the 
characteristic  features  of  the  valley,  to  be  noted  later.  The  lower  Illi- 
nois is  accordingly  an  excellent  example  of  a  depositing  (aggrading) 
river.  Deposition  along  its  channel  looks  to  the  development  of  a  grade 
sufficiently  steep  to  permit  the  stream  to  carry  away  the  material  brought 
to  it  from  the  tributary  uplands.  Much  grading  must  be  done,  however, 
before  the  present  stream  will  have  velocity  sufficient  to  do  this. 

The  inability  of  the  river  to  maintain  the  present  low  grade  means 
(1)  that  the  existing  gentle  slope  was  developed  by  a  river  of  larger 
volume  than  the  present  Illinois,  or  (2)  that  much  less  material  was 
formerly  washed  down  from  the  uplands  for  transportation,  or  (3)  that 
both  these  conditions  formerly  obtained.  While  the  development  of 
agriculture  in  the  vicinity  of  the  valley  has  doubtless  increased  the 
wash  from  areas  under  the  plow,  later  considerations  will  show  that  the 
valley  was  once  occupied  by  a  vastly  greater  river. 

Eeferring  again  to  Figures  4  and  7,  it  will  be  noted  that  the  average 
fall  of  the  lower  Illinois  is  less  than  that  of  the  Mississippi  below 
the  mouth  of  the  Illinois.  This  is  the  reverse  of  the  normal  relation 
between  tributaries  and  their  main  streams. 

Although  ordinarily  of  relatively  small  volume,  the  lower  Illinois  is 
sometimes  greatly  swollen  by  the -melting  of  snows  and  by  rains  (the 
natural  flood  discharge  reaches  about  85,000  cubic  feet  per  second  at 
LaSalle).     Large  areas  of  bottom  land  are  then  submerged,  the  valley 


1  Although  these  descriptions  were  written  before  water  from  Lake  Michigan  was  turned  into  the 
Illinois  through  the  Chicago  Drainage  Canal,  they  remain  substantially  true. 


BARROWS.] 


PHYSIOGRAPHIC    FEATURES. 


Pr.=Princeton 

D.-  Depue 
H.      Hennepin 
Hy.     Henry 
L.     Lacon 
C.=Chillicothe 
S.  B.     Spring  Bay 
P.=Peoria 
Pe.      Pekin 

Flood-plain  of  Illinois  River 


Illinois  Valley  terraces 


Slope  wash  and  tributary  stream  deposits  within  Illinois 
Valley,  above  level  of  flood-plain  (Only  the  larger  de- 
posits represented. '  Includes  small  terrace  remnants 
east  of  Peoria) 

Areas  within  which  sand  dunes  occur 


Wisconsin  till  sheets 


lllinoian  till  sheet 


Fig.  3.    Map  showing  general  distribution  of  certain  leading  features  of  the  region. 


J 


b  THE    MIDDLE    ILLINOIS    VALLEY.  [bull.  no.  15 

presenting  the  appearance  of  a  great  lake.  The  portion  of  the  valley 
bottom  subject  to  overflow,  the  flood^plam,  borders  the  river  as  an  ir- 
regular strip,  varying  from  about  one-half  to  four  and  three-eighths 
miles  in  width  (Fig.  3).  The  area  of  the  flood-plain  between  Utica 
and  Peoria  is  113.6  square  miles. 

During  overflow  the  river  deposits  most  actively  along  the  margins 
of  the  channel.  Here  the  depth  of  the  overflowing  water  is  suddenly 
diminished,  and,  in  consequence,  its  velocity  and  carrying  power.  Here 
during  the  continuance  of  the  overflow,  the  marginal  waters  of  the  main 
current  are  checked  by  friction  with  the  less  rapidly  moving  back-waters. 
Deposition  along  these  lines  during  successive  overflows  tends  to  build 
low  marginal  ridges  with  a  gentle  from-river  slope.  Such  embankments 
are  called  natural  levees  (Fig.  8). 

The  natural  levees  along  this  portion  of  the  Illinois  have  as  yet  been 
built  scarcely  more  than  half  up  to  flood  level,  a  further  evidence  of 
the  river's  lack  of  adjustment  to  present  conditions.  In  general,  they 
are  best  developed  below  the  mouths  of  tributaries  which  contribute 
much  sediment.  It  is  evident  that  natural  levees  will  not  prevent  sub- 
sequent overflow,  since  the  river  can  build  them  only  to  the  level  of  its 
flood  waters.  Artificial  embankments  have  been  built  upon  the  natural 
levees  of  many  aggrading  rivers  in  order  to  reclaim  their  bottom  lands. 
It  is  said  that  to  be  effective  such  levees  along  the  Illinois  river  would 
have  to  extend  twelve  feet  above  the  present  banks.  Only  in  this  way 
can  extensive  fertile  tracts,  now  nearly  worthless,  be  reclaimed. 

The  overloaded  condition  of  the  Illinois  is  further  shown  by  the 
sand  bars  that  have  accumulated  along  its  channel,  especially  off  the 
mouths  of  certain  tributaries,  such  as  Bureau  creek,  Crow  creek,  and 
Kickapoo  creek.  Since  such  shoals  inhibit  navigation,  attempts  were 
made  to  overcome  them  by  dredging  as  early  as  1852.  Large  sums 
were  subsequently  expended  for  the  same  purpose.  Some  of  the  low 
islands  of  the  river  appear  to  have  developed  from  bars. 

Only  a  small  fraction  of  the  flood-plain  is  at  present  cultivable.  This 
is  in  the  main  the  higher  ground  built  up  by  the  deposits  of  tributaries 
and  by  wash  from  the  valley  walls.  The  lower  areas  are  an  unoccupied 
waste  of  marshes,  lakes,  ponds,  and  sloughs,  which  it  was  formerly 
thought  must  "ever  remain  uninhabited."  Dike  roads,  maintained  at 
considerable  expense,  lead  across  these  areas  from  the  principal  towns. 
The  lakes  range  in  size  from  Lake  Senachwine  (Fig.  9),  over  four 
miles  in  length,  and  so  strikingly  resembling  a  section  of  the  present 
river  as  to  plainly  suggest  its  origin,  to  mere  ponds.  They  are  being 
gradually  obliterated  (1)  by  the  encroachment  of  marsh  vegetation 
upon  their  shallow  borders,  (2)  by  wash  from  their  surroundings,  and 
(3)  by  wind-blown  materia].  Like  lakes  of  other  classes,  they  are 
therefore  temporary  features. 

The  materials  of  the  flood-plain  range  from  gravel  to  the  finest  silt. 
The  coarser  material  dropped  by  the  river  is  in  general  confined  to 
the  vicinity  of  the  channel,  where,  as  noted  above,  the  velocity  of  the 
overflow   is  promptly   checked.      This   grades   more    or   less   irregularly 


-    BARROWS ] 


PHYSIOGRAPHIC   FEATURES. 


3 

_ 

c 
Ha 

a 

6 

ce 

E+ 

o 

CO 

3 

3 

I — 


8 


THE    MIDDLE    ILLINOIS    VALLEY. 


[BULL.    NO.  15 


into  the  fine  muds  which  gather  in  the  quiet  backwaters.  In  certain 
of  the  marshes,  for  example  opposite  Chillicothe,  the  dead  leaves,  twigs, 
and  branches  of  the  swamp  vegetation  gather  in  the  shallow  water, 
along  with  minor  quantities  of  silt.  This  vegetal  matter,  preserved  by 
the  water  from  complete  decay,  is  being  slowly  transformed  into  peat, 
which  in  the  future  may  have  economic  value.  Further  complexity  in 
the  distribution  of  the  materials  of  the  flood-plain  is  introduced  by  ir- 
regular contributions  made  by  bluff  wash  and  by  tributary  streams. 


Fig.  8.    Diagram  showing  natural  levees. 


Should  the  river  change  its  position  on  its  valley  floor,  the  coarser 
deposits  along  the  new  channel  would  cover  finer  deposits  that  had  been 
made  at  a  distance  from  the  old  channel,  whose  coarser  material  would 
in  turn  be  buried  with  fine.  Frequent  changes  in  position  by  the  ag- 
grading river  would  result  in  many  vertical  alternations  in  coarseness. 
Minor  variations  would  be  invited  by  the  unequal  strength  of  the  over- 
flow, capable  of  moving  particles  of  varying  size  to  a  given  place  at 
different  times.  Borings  in  the  flood-plain  of  the  Illinois  disclose  pro- 
nounced variations  in  material,  and  point  to  many  earlier  changes  in 
the  position  of  the  river,  as  the  lakes  do  to  recent  ones.  A  typical  suc- 
cession is  revealed  by  the  Peoria  city  well  (47  feet  deep),  located  upon 
the  flood-plain,  which  penetrates  the  following  beds,  beginning  with 
the  lowermost:  (1)  Sand  and  clay;  (2)  fine  gravel;  (3)  clay;  (4) 
coarse  gravel;  (5)   clay;  (6)  shells,  sand,  and  gravel. 

Such  shiftings  as  here  recorded  are  common  to  aggrading  streams. 
Figure  10  shows  the  resulting  general  structure  of  stream  deposits  The 
present  position  of  the  river  in  its  valley  is  determined  by  its  tributaries 
in  a  manner  described  below. 

Alluvial  fans. — Practically  every  tributary  valley  of  the  Illinois  with- 
in the  area  covered  by  the  report  is  fronted  by  deposits  made  by  its 
stream.  Since  they  are  half -circular  in  ground  plan  when  typically 
developed,  and  since  they  are  composed  of  alluvial  material,  deposits 
of  this  class  are  called  alluvial  fans  (Plate  1,  A).  Generally  speaking, 
alluvial  fans  are  best  developed  at  the  bases  of  steep  slopes  in  arid 
regions,  as  where  streams  of  diminishing  volume  leave  the  relatively 
high  gradients  of  their  mountain  valleys  to  enter  lowlands.  Their  ex- 
tensive development  along  the  middle  Illinois  is  a  further  peculiarity 
of  this  remarkable  valley.1 

The  smaller  fans  east  of  Lake  Peoria  and  in  other  sections  of  the 
valley,  occasion  many  of  the  unevennesses  of  the  roads  at  the  foot  of 

1  The  largest  alluvial  fans  of  the  region  are  well  shown  on  the  Peoria  and  Metamora  topographic 
sheets. 


BARROWS.] 


PHYSIOGRAPHIC   FEATURES. 


Fig.  9.     Map  showing  lakes  otminois  river  flood-plain  near  Henry.    (From  Lacon  topographic  map, 
\  U.  S.  Geol.  Surv.) 


10 


THE    MIDDLE    ILLINOIS   VALLEY. 


[BULL.  NO.  15 


the  bluffs,  and  since  the  fans  are  higher  than  the  adjacent  bottoms, 
they  have  frequently  been  selected  as  sites  for  homes.  The  larger  tribu- 
taries, such  as  Farm  creek,  Ten-Mile  creek,  etc.,  have  built  extensive 
fans  of  very  gentle  slope.  Farm  creek  fan,  opposite  Peoria  (Plate  2), 
affords  an  abundance  of  land  favorably  situated  for  the  growing  manu- 
factures of  the  city.  The  fans  of  the  larger  tributaries  divide  the  bottom 
lands  into  more  or  less  distinct  sections,  and  help  to  maintain  the 
marshiness  of  the  lower  tracts.  Furthermore,  these  deposits  determine 
the  position  of  the  Illinois  river  on  its  flood-plain  in  many  places.  Thus 
the  deposits  of  Bureau  creek  force  the  river  against  the  Hennepin  bank. 


Fig.  10.    Diagram  showing  genera]  structure  of  stream  deposits. 

Sandy  creek,  flowing  from  the  east,  helps  to  keep  it  along  the  western 
edge  of  the  flood-plain  at  Henry.  The  tributaries  opposite  Chillicothe 
accomplish  a  similar  result.  The  large  fan  of  Ten-Mile  creek  crowds 
the  river  against  the  western  bluff .  at  the  "Narrows"  north  of  Peoria, 
scarcely  leaving  room  at  its  base  for  the  wagon  road  and  railroad  which 
run  north  from  the  city.  The  Farm  creek  fan  is  responsible  for  the 
position  of  the  river  along  the  western  side  of  its  flood-plain  at  ?eoria 
(Plate  2),  while  the  deposits  of  Kickapoo  creek  just  to  the  south  carry 
it  abruptly  over  to  the  eastern  side  of  the  valley  at  Wesley.  Vhe  de- 
posits of  Lamarsh  creek  and  Mackinaw  river  control  its  course  farther 
south,  pushing  it  in  each  case  toward  the  opposite  side  of  tie  flood- 
plain.  The  helpless  manner  in  which  the  river  wanders  around  the 
deposits  of  its  tributaries  was  commented  upon  some  years  ago  by  L. 
E.  Cooley  of  the  Chicago  Drainage  Commission,  who  pointed  out  that  it 
was  found  on  the  side  of  the  valley  opposite  the  tributary  whence  the 
deposits  came,  and  that  in  general  its  location  marked  a  neutral  line 
indicating  the  relative  contribution  from  either  side. 

Again,  the  deposits  of  certain  tributaries  greatly  affect  the  width  of 
the  Illinois.  The  fan  of  Farm  crock  acts  as  a  dam,  procucing  the  wide 
expansion  of  the  river  known  as  Lake  Peoria  (Plate  Z).  Above  the 
"Narrows"  at  the  fan  of  Ten-Mile  creek  is  another  broac  expanse,  a  mile 
and  three-quarters  wide  at  one  point,  called  the  Upper  Lake.  The  river 
has  several  times  its  ordinary  width  nearly  to  Chillicotie,  to  which  point 
Lake  Peoria  is  frequently  considered  as  extending.  3elow  Lake  Peoria 
the  deposits  of  tributaries  have  made  the  river  unisually  narrow  for 
some  miles,  and  have  built  the  flood-plain  above  its  average  height. 


STATE   GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY. 


Bull.  No.  15,  Plate  1. 


A.    A  small  alluvial  fan.    (Photo  by  Crane.) 


B.    A  small  terrace  in  valley  of  Farm  creek. 


BARROWS. J 


PHYSIOGRAPHIC    FEATURES. 


11 


The  very  low  slope  of  the  Illinois  flood-plain,  together  with  the  flat- 
tish  fans  of  the  larger  tributaries,  accounts  for  the  unusual  course  taken 
by  some  of  the  streams  after  they  enter  the  main  valley.  Tributary 
streams  on  entering  large  valleys  commonly  flow  greater  or  lesser  dis- 
tances down  valley  before  joining  their  mains,  with  which  they  usually 
form  acute  angles  up-stream.  In  contrast,  some  of  the  larger  tributaries 
of  the  middle  Illinois  river  take  very  irregular  courses  within  the  main 
valley,  in  a  few  cases  even  flowing  some  little  distance  up-stream  before 
joining  the  main  river. 

Terraces. — In  common  with  certain  other  valleys  of  the  northern  part 
of  the  United  States,  the  valley  of  the  middle  Illinois  is  characterized 
by  a  series  of  extensive  flats  at  varying  heights  above  the  flood-plain. 
Such  flats  above  flood-plains  are  terraces.  The  frontispiece  and  Plate 
3  show  portions  of  the  terraces  of  the  Illinois  valley  north  of  Peoria,  and 
Plate  1,  B  shows  a  small  terrace  in  the  valley  of  Farm  creek,  near  East 
Peoria.  Figatre  11  shows  a  flood-plain,  terrace,  and  upland,  and  indi- 
cates their  relation  to  one  another. 


1     r 


Fig.  11.    Diagram  to  show  the  relation  of  a  flood  plain,  terrace,  and  upland  to  one  another. 


The  terraces  are  composed  principally  of  sand  and  gravel  of  varying 
degrees  of  coarseness.  Their  structure  may  be  observed  at  numerous 
sand  and  gravel  pits,  and  in  many  other  exposures.  The  material  is  in 
layers,  and  therefore  water-laid.  Layers  of  fine  and  coarse  material 
alternate  frequently,  and  therefore  the  velocity  of  the  depositing  waters 
changed  often  at  a  given  place.  Traced  horizontally,  layers  thin  out  and 
give  place  to  others  of  different  composition;  hence  the  character  of  the 
depositing  waters  varied  from  point  to  point  at  a  given  time.  The 
thin  divisions  within  layers  (laminae)  slant  in  various  directions,  and 
meet  each  other  at  varying  angles;  hence  the  material  was  deposited 
upon  an  uneven  .bottom  by  irregular  currents.  The  deposits  of  the 
present  flood-plain  (pp.  6-8)  have  the  general  structure  of  these  terrace 
beds,  and  are  forming  under  conditions  similar  to  those  under  which  the 
material  of  the  terraces  was  deposited.  We  therefore  conclude  that  the 
terrace  beds  are  those  of  ancient  flood-plains,  at  whose  level  the  river 
once  flowed.  From  this  it  follows  that  the  highest  terrace  is  oldest,  and 
that   the   terrace^   are   successively   younger   as   the   present  flood-plain 


12  THE    MIDDLE    ILLINOIS    VALLEY.  [BULL.  NO.  15 

is  approached.  Since  the  terraces  are  remnants  of  old  flood-plains, 
they  are  remnants  of  flats  which  originally  extended  across  the  valley 
to  the  edge  of  some  higher  terrace  or  to  the  valley  wall.  Since  flood- 
plains  decline  down-stream,  a  given  terrace  should  stand  at  progres- 
sively lower  levels  down  valley. 

The  terraces  are  in  striking  contrast  with  the  present  flood-plain,  in 
that  they  are  in  many  places  made  uneven  by  sand  hills  built  upon  them 
and  by  shallow,  steep  sided  valleys  cut  into  them.  Sand  hills  are  es- 
pecially well  developed  on  the  Chillicothe  and  Pekin  terraces.  Here 
they  form  a  complex  of  irregularly  shaped  hills  and  short  ridges,  often 
associated  with  shallow  depressions  without  outlet.  In  some  instances 
they  attain  an  elevation  of  thirty  to  forty  or  more  feet  above  their  im- 
mediate surroundings.  Since  the  terraces  were  originally  flood-plains, 
these  features  were  obviously  acquired  since  their  formation. 

The  terrace  gravels  are  extensively  used  on  wagon  roads  and  for  rail- 
road ballast.  The  Atchison,  Topeka  and  Santa  Fe  Railway  Company 
ships  gravel  from  its  large  pit  at  Chillicothe  to  all  points  along  its  road 
from  the  vicinity  of  Chicago  to  western  Missouri.  There  are  railroad 
pits  also  at  or  near  Bureau,  Hennepin,  Henry,  and  Pekin.  Since  cen- 
tral Illinois  has  but  limited  supplies  of  good  road  material,  these  ter- 
race gravels  are  likely  to  find  a  wide  market  in  the  future. 

The  terrace  soils  are  generally  sandy  loams,  though  clay  soils  are  not 
wanting,  especially  near  the  bluffs,  where  there  has  been  more  or  less 
wash  from  the  uplands  since  the  terraces  were  formed. 

Every  important  town  of  this  part  of  the  valley  grew  up  upon  a 
terrace,  avoiding  alike  the  bottoms,  subject  to  floods,  and  the  uplands, 
usually  150  or  more  feet  above  the  waterway.  The  early  relations  of  the 
villages  to  the  river  are  reflected  in  the  fact  that  the  streets  in  the  older 
quarters  run  parallel  to  the  river  front  and  at  right  angles  to  it,  rather 
than  with  the  points  of  the  compass.  The  immediate  location  upon  the 
terrace  edge  was  in  several  cases  determined  by  relatively  large  tribu- 
tary streams  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  valley,  whose  deposits  crowded 
the  river  to  the  terrace  side  of  its  flood-plain.  Pekin  and  Peoria  ap- 
pear to  be  striking  illustrations  of  this  control.  Peoria  has  spread  from 
its  lower  terraces  to  an  upper  one,  and  is  now  spreading  back  upon  the 
upland. 

The  bluffs. — The  bluffs  which  bound  the  Illinois  valley  vary  consid- 
erably in  height,  reaching  a  maximum  as  already  indicated,  of  over 
250  feet.  Their  height  is  influenced  by  the  varying  altitude  of  the 
upland  and  the  nature  of  the  surface  to  which  they  descend.  Where 
they  separate  the  more  elevated  tracts  of  upland  from  the  flood-plain, 
they  are  relatively  high ;  where  they  intervene  between  the  lower  uplands 
and  the  terraces,  they  are  relatively  low. 

The  bluffs  of  the  middle  Illinois  are  commonly  too  steep  for  cultivation 
and  remain  wooded.  The  frontispiece  and  Plate  3  show  their  typical 
character.  Their  steepness  indicates  that  a  very  short  period,  as  geology 
measures  time,  has  elapsed  since  the  river,  flowing  at  their  base,  under- 
cut them  and  made  them  steep.  In  this  moist  climate,  so  much  material 
would  otherwise  have  washed  from  the  upper  slopes,  lodging  at  the  base, 


STATE    GEOLOGICAL   SURVEY. 


Bull.  No.  15,  Plate  2. 


%  WW 


■■•  ■■•    N;\ 


barrows.]  PHYSIOGRAPHIC    FEATURES.  13 

as  to  greatly  reduce  their  steepness  (Fig.  12).  This  is  especially  true 
since  the  bluffs  of  the  Illinois,  within  the  area  with  which  this  report 
is  concerned,  are  almost  exclusively  of  clay,  sand,  and  gravel,  rather  than 


D\C   \p>A 


Fig.  12.     Diagram  to  illustrate  the  reduction  of  a  bluff  by  slope  wash.     Successive  profiles  are  indicated 

by  the  letters. 

firm  rock.  Locally  the  bluffs  have  much  less  than  their  customary 
steepness,  and  since  their  composition  is  essentially  the  same  as  where 
steeper,  we  conclude  that  such  sections  have  been  free  from  under- 
cutting for  a  longer  time.  Plate  4,  A  shows  low  bluffs  of  gentle  slope 
north  of  Bureau,  and  Plate  4,  B  shows  the  curve,  concave  upwards, 
which  slope  wash  tends  to  produce. 

Eoads  from  the  upland  seek  the  valley  bottom  at  infrequent  intervals, 
often  taking  advantage  of  the  floor  of  some  of  the  larger  ravines  which 
trench  the  bluffs.  The  easier  grades  of  the  larger  tributary  valleys 
have  located  the  railroads  which  traverse  the  region.  The  main  line 
of  the  Chicago,  Eock  Island,  and  Pacific  Eailroad  leaves  the  Illinois 
valley  at  the  great  bend  along  the  valley  of  Big  Bureau  creek.  Crow 
creek,  opposite  Chillicothe,  affords  the  Atchison,  Topeka,  and  Santa  Fe 
Eailroad  an  easy  descent  to  the  Illinois  flood-plain.  The  valleys  of 
Farm  creek  and  Kickapoo  creek,  on  opposite  sides  of  the  river  at  Peoria, 
are  utilized  by  railroads  seeking  that  city  from  the  east  and  west. 

The  general  vallev  features  thus  far  described,  are  shown  in  Figure 
13,  a  cross  section  of  the  Illinois  valley  at  Peoria. 

The  upland. — The  upland  plain  has  a  general  elevation  to  the  north 
of  Peoria  of  G50  to  700  feet  above  sea  level,  and  to  the  south  of  the 
city  of  600  to  G50  feet,  within  the  area  considered  here. 


Upland 

3 

5 

\ 

Middle  Terrcce 

s_ 

CD 

•s 

5 

o 

Alluvial 

^■"l 

fan  of  Farm  Creek__^/ 

FIG.  14.    Cross  section  ol  the  Illinois  valley  at  Peoria. 
Vertical  scale:    200  feet  to  1  inch;  horizontal,  %  mile  to  1  inch. 

The  otherwise  flatfish  topography  of  the  uplands  is  broken,  (1)  by 
the  numerous  small  valleys  which  border  the  Illinois,  and  (2)  by  certain 
low,  broad  clay  ridges  unrelated  to  valleys. 


14  THE    MIDDLE    ILLINOIS    VALLEY.  Tbull.  NO.  15 

The  small  valleys. — Small  tributary  valleys  and  ravines  border  the 
Illinois  valley  on  either  side.  They  are  frequently  separated  only  by 
narrow  tongues  of  upland,  so  that  the  surface  is  largely  slope.  This 
fact  is  brought  out  by  Plate  2,  which  shows  numerous  small  valleys  east 
of  Peoria  by  means  of  contours,  and  by  Figure  14,  which  represents  the 
character  of  the  surface  between  the  points  "A"  and  "B"  on  the  map. 
Throughout  the  area  under  consideration  the  valleys  tributary  to  the 
Illinois  valley  (as  in  the  case  of  those  shown  in  Plate  2)  are  generally 
narrow  and  steep  sided;  they  usually  have  high  gradients  and  are  often 
without  permanent  streams.  While  the  great  majority  of  these  valleys 
are  only  a  fraction  of  a  mile  in  length,  the  dissected  belt  north  of 
Peoria,  extends  two  to  five  miles  from  the  Illinois  valley,  and  it  is  con- 
siderably wider  than  that  to  the  south  of  Peoria.  Still  farther  back 
from  the  Illinois,  the  small  valleys  are  less  numerous  and  deep,  and  the 
upland  surface  therefore  more  regular. 


Fig.  14.    Profile  of  surface  between  points  "A"  auu  "±$",  Plate  2,  snowing  irregular  topography  occa 

sioned  by  small  valleys. 
Vertical  scale:  200  feet  to  1  inch;  horizontal,  \  mile  tD  1  inch. 

Those  uplands  from  which  the  bluffs  of  the  Illinois  valley  descend 
directly  to  the  flood-plain  are  more  rugged  than  the  uplands  which  are 
adjacent  to  the  terraces,  for  the  valleys  leading  back  from  the  flood-plain 
level  are  deeper  than  those  which  extend  inland  from  the  terraces. 

Further  characteristics  of  the  small  valleys  may  best  be  pointed  out 
in  connection  with  the  discussion  of  their  origin  (p.  56).  The  great 
discrepancy  in  size  between  the  Illinois  valley  and  its  tributary  valleys 
should  be  noted,  h'owever,  as  again  putting  this  valley  system  in  con- 
trast with  normal  valley  systems. 

The  clay  ridges. — The  general  distribution  of  these  ridges,  under  the 
name  of  moraines,  is  shown  in  Figure  20.  They  extend,  with  varying 
characteristics,  far  beyond  the  area  under  discussion,  as  members  of  a 
complex  series  of  ridges  and  hilly  belts,  which  rudely  encircles  the  head 
of  Lake  Michigan.  In  the  area  described  here  they  commonly  exceed 
two  miles  in  width,  and  are  locally  a  conspicuous  feature  of  the  land- 
scape when  viewed  from  the  plain  to  the  west  of  them.  Near  Groveland 
the  ridge  exceeds  790  feet  in  elevation,  rising  140  to  150  feet  above  the 
plain  which  borders  it  two  miles  to  the  westward.  The  ridge  extending 
northward  from  North  Peoria  is  also  well  developed,  its  proximity  to 
the  Illinois  valley  accounting  for  the  shortness  of  the  ravines  tributary 
thereto  on  the  west,  in  comparison  to  those  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
valley. 

In  the  area  under  consideration,  the  surface  of  these  ridges  is  usually 
rather  regular,  though  always  lacking  the  even  crest  popularly  associated 
with  the  term.     Locally,  as  near  Groveland,  their  surface  is  diversified 


STATE   GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY. 


Bull.  No.  15,  Plate  3. 


*iv* 


ll    p 


A.    View  of  Illinois  valley  north  of  Peoria,  showing  terrace  and  bluffs  on  east  side.     (Photo  by  Dewein.) 


B .    The  flat  in  the  middle  foreground  is  part  of  an  extensive  terrace  between  Peoria  and  Moss ville .    The 
lower  slopes  of  the  valley  side  appear  in  the  immediate  foreground.    (Photo  by  Dewein.) 


barrows. I  PHYSIOGRAPHIC    FEATURES.  15 

by  mounds  and  hillocks,  sometimes  associated  with  shallow,  undrained 
depressions.  Beneath  a  surface  coating  of  brown  silt,  they  consist  of 
moderately  stony  clay. 

The  clay  ridges  stand  in  no  definite  relation  to  drainage  lines  and  are 
therefore  not  remnants  of  once  continuous  uplands,  whose  surroundings 
have  been  worn  lower  by  streams.  Nor  could  the  shallow  basins  which 
locally  interrupt  their  surface  have  been  formed  by  running  water, 
since  all  stream  valleys  possess  outlets.  The  special  conditions  under 
which  these  and  other  important  features  of  the  area  developed,  are 
considered  in  Chapter  III. 

Summary. — The  more  important  general  features  of  the  region  are 
the  following:  (1)  A  great  valley  of  very  irregular  width,  lying  150 
to  250  feet  below  the  upland  plain,  from  which  steep  bluffs  descend. 
( 2  )  An  aggrading  river  of  extremely  gentle  fall,  which  flows  sluggishly 
around  the  deposits  of  its  tributaries,  by  which  it  is  locally  expanded 
to  the  dimensions  of  a  lake.  (3)  An  extensive  flood-plain  whose  marshes 
and  lakes  withhold  large  areas  from  agriculture.  The  surface  of  the 
flood-plain  rises  very  slightly  along  the  river  to  form  imperfect  levees, 
and  has  been  built  above  its  normal  level  in  places  by  the  deposits  of 
tributary  streams  and  by  rain  wash  from  the  valley  sides.  (4)  A  re- 
markable series  of  alluvial  fans,  by  which  the  tributaries  assist  in  filling 
the  Illinois  valley.  (5)  A  system  of  extensive  sand  and  gravel  terraces. 
The  surfaces  of  the  terraces,  originally  nearly  flat,  are  nowT  diversified 
locally  by  sand  hills  and  by  small  valleys.  They  have  located  the  towns 
and  cities  of  the  region.  (6)  A  flatfish  upland  plain,  deeply  dissected  by 
small  valleys  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Illinois,  and  traversed  by  morainic 
ridges. 

The  history  of  the  development  of  these  features  is  traced  in  sub- 
sequent pages. 


16  THE   MIDDLE    ILLINOIS   VALLEY.  [bull.  no.  15> 


CHAPTER  II. 


THE  BED  ROCKS  OF  THE  REGION. 

Distribution  of  outcrops. — Bed  rocks  in  definite  layers  are  exposed 
(outcrop)  along  certain  stream  bottoms  and  valley  sides  within  the  area 
under  discussion.  They  may  be  studied  to  advantage  along  the  course 
of  Kickapoo  creek  and  several  of  its  tributaries,  at  points  along  Lamarsh 
creek,  opposite  Pekin,  and  in  the  valleys  of  Gimlet  and  Thenius  creeks, 
near  Sparland,  all  on  the  west  side  of  the  Illinois  river,  and  in  the 
vicinity  of  Wesley  on  the  east  side.  There  are  small  exposures  also  in 
the  ravines  about  two  miles  north  of  Chillicothe,  along  Rowe's  Hollow, 
southwest  of  Henry,  and  near  Marquette.  Bed  rock  is  not  known  to 
outcrop  on  the  western  side  of  the  Illinois  valley  between  Henry  and 
Marquette,  nor  on  the  eastern  side  between  East  Peoria  and  a  point  some 
miles  beyond  Hennepin. 

The  above  outcrops  are  the  edges  of  essentially  horizontal  rock  layers, 
some  of  which  extend  back  beneath  the  uplands  considerable  distances. 
Very  similar  formations  underlie  the  entire  region  with  which  this 
report  is  concerned,  and  extend  far  beyond  it  throughout  much  of  the 
State.  They  belong  to  a  great  system  of  rocks  known  as  the  Pennsyl- 
vanian  (Carboniferous)  system,  formed  during  the  Pennsylvanian  period. 

Influence  on  topography. — Where  exposed  in  valley  sides,  the  bed 
rocks  sometimes  occasion  nearly  vertical  slopes  (Plate  5),  though 
they  form  no  striking  scenic  features,  and  in  general  exert  little  in- 
fluence upon  the  topography.  Borings  show  them  to  be  commonly 
covered  by  two  to  three  hundred,  and  sometimes  by  four  to  five  hundred 
feet  of  clay,  sand,  and  gravel. 

Economic  importance. — The  principal  outcropping  rocks  are  shale, 
sandstone,  limestone,  and  coal.  All  are  of  more  or  less  economic  value. 
Shale  is  quarried  at  several  places  south  of  East  Peoria,  for  the  making 
of  tile  and  brick.  Sandstone  and  limestone  have  been  quarried  locally 
for  building  purposes,  and  the  latter  for  the  manufacture  of  lime.  Coal 
is  the.  greatest  mineral  resource  of  Illinois.  The  output  more  than 
doubled  in  the  decade  1895-1905,  and  in  the  year  1908  had  a  value 
of  nearly  $50,000,000.  Four  counties  bordering  on  the  middle  Illinois 
river  (Bureau,  Peoria,  Marshall,  and  Tazewell)  furnished  about  one- 
twelfth  of  the  total.    The  increase  in  production  during  the  next  decade 


STATE   GEOLOGICAL   SURVEY. 


Bull.  No.  15,  Plate  4. 


^ 

i* 

<■'.'•>-•  '    : 

■ 

„.„i 

i£^2L 

- 

A.    A  section  of  the  Illinois  valley  bluffs  north,  of  Bureau.    The  bluffs  are  here  lower  and  less  prominent 

than  is  common. 


•*^J!r*'  *.&* 


B.    Lower  valley  side  north  of  Bureau.    The  slope  between  "A"  and  aB  "  shows  the  depositional  pro- 
file formed  by  rain  wash. 


barrows.]  BED    ROCKS   OF   THE    REGION.  17 

or  two  is  generally  expected  to  be  even  greater  than  that  of  the  past  de- 
c-ad e,  and  the  industry  appears  to  have  an  especially  bright  future  along 
the  Illinois  river,  destined  to  be  one  of  the  great  commercial  highways 
of  the  world,  when  it  becomes  a  link  in  the  projected  line  of  deep  water 
navigation  between  Lake  Michigan  and  the  Gulf  of  Mexico   (p.  121). 

Such  economic  considerations  make  the  coal  bearing  rocks  of  the 
middle  Illinois  valley,  together  with  the  conditions  of  their  formation, 
of  special  interest. 

Characteristics  and  origin  of  the  sandstone. — Sandstone  forms  pre- 
cipitous bluffs  fifteen  to  thirty  feet  high  at  many  points  along  the 
lower  course  of  Kickapoo  creek.  Examination  shows  that  the  sandstone 
consists  chiefly  of  medium  sized  sand  grains  bound  together  by  a  cement 
of  calcium  carbonate  or  iron  oxide.  The  latter  cement  determines  the 
brown  color  of  much  of  the  rock.  Some  of  the  more  poorly  cemented 
sandstone  may  be  readily  pulverized,  when  it  resembles  in  all  respects 
the  finer  sand  accumulating  along  the  flood-plain  of  the  neighboring 
creek.  The  sandstone  is  in  massive,  nearly  horizontal  layers,  some  of 
them  five  feet  or  more  in  thickness.  Thinner  divisions  (laminae)  slant- 
ing in  different  directions,  and  meeting  each  other  at  various  angles  are 
conspicuous  within  certain  layers.  Eocks  affected  by  such  oblique 
laminae  are  said  to  be  cross-bedded. 

The  foregoing  characteristics  of  the  sandstone  throw  some  light  on 
the  geography  of  the  environs  of  Peoria  at  the  time  the  sand  from  which 
it  was  formed  was  deposited.  The  fact  that  the  rock  is  in  layers  signi- 
fies that  the  sand  was  accumulated  in  water,  to  which  it  was  brought 
largely  by  streams  from  the  land  of  the  time.  The  further  fact  that 
only  sands  were  deposited  here  for  some  considerable  time  implies  that 
the  bottom  waters  were  in  sufficient  agitation  to  prevent  any  muds  that 
were  washed  down  from  the  land  coming  permanently  to  rest.  This 
means  that  the  water  was  shallow,  for  waters  are  commonly  stirred  by 
waves,  currents,  the  undertow,  etc.,  only  to  comparatively  slight  depths. 
That  the  water  was  shallow  is  further  proven  by  the  cross-bedding  of 
the  sandstone.  This  structure  is  developed  only  along  stream  bottoms 
and  off  ocean  and  lake  shores,  where  the  depth  is  sufficiently  slight  for 
the  bottom  water  to  be  in  frequent  agitation.  The  cement  by  which  the 
loose  sand  was  bound  into  firm  sandstone  was  deposited  from  solution 
in  percolating  waters.  Certain  inferences  may  also  be  made  concern- 
ing the  land  whence  the  materials  of  the  sandstone  came.  It  must  have 
possessed  at  least  moderate  relief,  for  the  streams  of  very  low,  flat  lands 
are  too  sluggish  to  transport  sand  in  quantity.  Its  rocks  must  have 
been  of  a  kind  whose  decay  would  yield  sand.  It  need  not  have  been, 
and  probably  was  not,  close  at  hand  ;  sediment  may  be  rolled  and  dragged 
long  distances  along  a  shallow  bottom  before  reaching  a  final  resting 
place. 

The  sandstone  formation  just  considered  is  not  known  to  have  ex- 
tended throughout  the  area  here  considered.  Varying  depths  of  water 
or  unequally  strong  waves  and  currents  may  have  caused  the  accumula- 
tion at  the  same  time  of  different  materials  in  other  nearby  localities. 

—2  G 


18  THE    MIDDLE   ILLINOIS   VALLEY.  [bull.  no.  15 

The  shale  and  Us  formation. — Shale  is  the  most  common  rock  in  the 
region.  It  consists  of  mud  particles  pressed  and  cemented  into  a 
compact  mass.  Fresh  surfaces  are  generally  blue  or  green  in  color, 
though  locally  an  abundance  of  carbonaceous  material  renders  the  shale 
nearly  or  quite  black.  Upon  long  exposure  to  the  weather  it  becomes 
yellow  in  consequence  of  the  oxidation  of  its  iron.  The  shale  is  com- 
monly in  thin  layers,  many  of  them  but  a  small  fraction  of  an  inch  in 
thickness.  Thin  bands  and  roundish  masses  of  ironstone  are  locally  in- 
cluded within  the  shale. 

The  several  shale  formations  exposed  in  the  area  were  probably  formed 
under  substantially  the  same  conditions.  As  in  the  case  of  the  sand- 
stone, the  fact  that  the  shale  is  in  layers  indicates  that  the  muds  from 
which  it  was  derived  were  deposited  in  water.  Shale  further  requires 
water  sufficiently  quiet  to  permit  fine  silt  to  remain  upon  the  bottom. 

The  limestone. — Limestone  is  much  less  abundantly  exposed  within 
the  area  than  sandstone  or  shale.  Occasional  outcrops  range  in  thick- 
ness from  a  few  inches  to  some  five  feet,  and  in  appearance  from  a 
dark  gray,  fine-grained  rock  to  a  very  light  colored,  crystalline  one.  The 
beginning  student  will  be  helped  in  the  identification  of  limestone  by 
the  fact  that  when  it  is  treated  with  hydrochloric  acid,  a  bubbling  or 
effervescence  is  produced.  Certain  of  these  limestones  contain  many 
recognizable  relics  (fossils)  of  marine  animals,  and  are  doubtless  made 
up  chiefly  of  organic  remains.  These  fossils  prove  that  when  the 
limey  material  now  compacted  into  firm  rock  was  deposited,  the  sea 
covered  the  area  where  the  limestone  occurs.  Furthermore,  since  the 
limestone  contains  little  sandy  or  clayey  material,  it  is  evident  either 
that  the  areas  of  accumulation  were  some  distance  from  shore,  beyond 
the  reach  of  land-derived  sediment,  or  that  the  neighboring  land  was 
so  low  that  its  sluggish  streams  were  unable  to  wash  material  in  any 
amount  to  the  sea.  Certain  limestones  that  do  not  appear  to  contain 
fossils  occur  within  the  region,  and  these  may  have  been  chemically 
precipitated  from  the  waters  of  local  basins  or  ocean  embayments. 

The  coal. — Coal  is  the  product  of  the  partial  decay  and  alteration  of 
vegetation.  Under  the  microscope  it  may  in  some  cases  be  seen  to  be  a 
mass  of  altered  vegetable  matter.1  It  frequently  contains  abundant  re- 
mains of  plants.  Vegetable  matter  in  various  stages  of  change  connects 
the  coal  by  all  gradations  with  the  vegetation  of  present  marshes. 
The  coal  plants  grew  where  the  coal  now  is.  Had  they  grown  else- 
where and  been  washed  by  streams  to  their  present  position,  they  would 
have  been  mixed  with  much  mud,  sand,  etc.  Great  quantities  of  veg- 
etable matter,  essentially  unmixed  with  sediment,  are  now  forming  only 
in  bogs  and  swamps.  It  is  therefore  believed  that  each  extensive  coal 
seam  along  the  middle  Illinois  tells  of  a  vast  marsh  in  which  the  dead 
leaves,  branches,  and  trunks  of  thousands  of  generations  of  trees  to- 
gether with  their  undergrowths,  formed  thick  layers  of  vegetal  matter. 
The  marshes  may  have  developed  in  inland  basins,  in  lagoons  along  the 
sea  shore,  such  as  now  occur  off  the  coast  of  New  Jersey,  the  Carolinas, 
and  Georgia,  or  on  river  flood-plains.     Indeed,  the  imperfect  peat  now 

1  This  does  not  mean  that  a  piece  of  coal  under  the  microscope  reveals  its  vegetal  origin,  but  that 
coal  properly  treated,  and  cut  into  sufficiently  thiu  sections  will,  in  the  hands  of  the  expert,  reveal  its 
cellular  structure. 


STATE    GEOLOGICAL   SURVEY 


Bull.  No.  15,  Plato 


•^-..-■-'ze.etA 


A.    Pennsylvania!!  rocks  exposed  in  Rowe's  Hollow,  southwest  of  Henry. 


B.    Exposure  of  Pennsylvania!!  rocks  in  Kickapoo  valley,  near  Peoria. 


barrows.]  BED    ROCKS   OF   THE    REGION.  19 

forming  in  parts  of  the  Illinois  flood-plain,  for  example  opposite  Chilli- 
cothe,  represents  the  first  step  in  the  formation  of  coal.  It  is  not  prob- 
able  that  any  one  marsh  extended  throughout  the  coal  producing  area 
of  Illinois,  though  individual  marshes  may  have  covered  the  entire 
ai\a  of  the  middle  Illinois  valley. 

AYood  is  composed  chiefly  of  carbon,  hydrogen,  and  oxygen.  When 
it  decays  in  the  air,  the  carbon  and  hydrogen  unite  with  the  oxygen  of 
the  atmosphere  and  of  the  wood  to  form  carbon  dioxide  and  water. 
The  other  constituents  are  also  disposed  of  by  chemical  combination, 
and  the  wood  disappears.  If  the  vegetation  decays  under  water,  how- 
ever, it  is  protected  from  the  atmosphere,  and  the  elements  of  the  wood 
unite  with  one  another  to  a  greater  extent.  The  products  of  such  decay 
withdraw  the  hydrogen  and  oxygen  of  the  wood  much  faster  than  the 
carbon,  which  therefore  makes  up  the  bulk  of  the  remaining  mass.  If 
this  altered  vegetation  be  buried  under  beds  of  sand  or  mud,  further 
pnysical  and  chemical  changes  occur  which  help  to  produce  coal.  The 
conditions  for  the  formation  of  coal  are  then  abundant  vegetation,  pro- 
tected by  water  from  the  oxygen  of  the  atmosphere.  These  conditions 
are  found  only  in  such  situations  as  those  noted  in  the  preceding  para- 
graph. 

Geographic  changes  recorded  by  exposed  rocks. — The  preceding  para- 
graphs have  indicated  that  each  of  the  several  kinds  of  rock  exposed 
in  the  area  originated  under  special  and  particular  conditions.  Since 
the  strata  alternate  frequently,  it  is  clear  that  many  changes  in  physical 
geography  occurred.  The  number  and  something  of  the  nature  of 
these  changes  may  be  inferred  from  a  study  of  the  following  typical 
section,  which  is  exposed  at  Schmidt's  mine  on  the  west  side  of  the  lower 
Kickapoo.     Number  1  is  the  lowest  (oldest)   of  the  exposed  beds: 


Feet.        Inches. 


9.  Shale,  exposed  about 

8.  Coal 

7.  Fire  clay 

6.  Sandy  shale,  with  occasional  sandstone  layers 

5.  Massive  brown  sandstone,  about 

4.  Shale,  including  thin  bands  of  ironstone 

3.  Limestone 

2.  Shale   

1 .  Coal 


4 
2 

2  to  2 

3  to  8 

30 
5 


2 

4  to  4 


10 

5  to  12 
6 
6 


The  coal  seam  (No.  1)  represents  the  accumulation  of  marsh  vegeta- 
tion for  a  very  long  period.  This  was  terminated  by  an  inflow  of  water, 
due  to  the  subsidence  of  the  swamp  or  to  a  rise  of  the  surface  of  a 
neighboring  water  body.  Fine  muds  (No.  2)  were  next  laid  down  upon 
a  quiet  bottom,  burying  the  organic  matter.  The  accumulation  of  mud 
was  succeeded  by  the  formation  of  limestone  (No.  3)  when  the  land  for 
some  reason  ceased  to  yield  sediment,  or  its  deposition  was  shifted  to  a 
new  area.  Eenewed  wash  from  the  land  or  a  shoaling  of  the  water  again 
allowed  an  influx  of  mud  (No.  4).  During  this  stage,  iron  that  had 
been  dissolved  by  ground  waters  from  the  soil  and  rocks  of  the  land, 
was  brought  in  by  streams,  and  deposited  to  form  thin  bands  of  iron- 
stone.    Further  shoaling  of  the  waters  by  sedimentation  or  uplift,  oc- 


20  THE   MIDDLE    ILLINOIS   VALLEY.  [bull.  no.  15 

casioned  the  accumulation  of  sands  (No.  5).  A  deepening  of  the  water 
again  caused  the  deposition  of  muds  (Nos.  6  and  7).  The  occurrence 
of  sandy  layers  within  this  shale  formation  points  to  occasional  changes 
in  the  depth  of  the  water  or,  more  likely,  in  the  strength  of  waves  and 
currents.  At  length  marsh  conditions  were  restored  (No.  8)  by  sedi- 
mentation building  the  bottom  up  to  the  water  surface,  or  by  an  eleva- 
tion of  the  bottom  or  a  lowering  of  the  surface  of  the  water.  This 
second  swamp  appears  to  have  lasted  about  half  as  long  as  the  first, 
judging  by  the  relative  thickness  of  the  coal  seams.  Submergence  led 
to  the  burial  of  its  vegetation  under  the  muds  represented  by  No.  9. 

The  above  section  represents  but  a  small  portion  of  the  Pennsylvanian 
system.  Deep  borings  show  that  the  rocks  of  this  period  have  a  thick- 
ness of  some  1,200  feet  in  certain  places  in  central  Illinois.  A  general 
section  of  the  Pennsylvanian  rocks  of  the  State  prepared  by  Worthen 
represents  the  system  as  containing  ninety-five  distinct  formations.  Six- 
teen coal  seams  (not  all  workable)  are  indicated,  separated  by  shales, 
sandstones,  and  limestones.  No  other  system  of  rocks  within  the  State 
records  so  remarkable  a  series  of  geographic  changes. 

Older  formations. — As  already  indicated,  no  rocks  older  than  the 
Pennsylvanian  outcrop  within  the  area  covered  by  this  report.  Older 
beds  have  been  penetrated  by  artesian  wells,  however,  and  locally  they 
have  importance  as  a  source  of  public  water  supply.  The  porous,  water- 
carrying  formations  in  question  rise  slowly  toward  the  north  and  come 
to  the  surface  in  south  central  Wisconsin.  A  part  of  the  rain  which  falls 
there  sinks  into  the  ground  and  follows  these  slanting  (dipping)  por- 
ous beds  to  the  south.  Since  each  of  them  is  covered  by  relatively  im- 
pervious beds,  the  water  they  contain  below  the  middle  Illinois  valley 
is  under  the  immense  pressure  of  a  sloping  column  of  water  which  fills 
the  pores  of  the  rocks,  and  extends  northward  to  the  area  of  outcrop. 
Accordingly,  when  the  impervious  cap  is  penetrated  by  a  boring,  the 
water  is  forced  toward,  and  in  some  cases  above  the  surface.  Not  all 
the  artesian  wells  of  the  area  reach  the  older  (pre-carboniferous)  forma- 
tions. The  public  wells  at  Putnam  and  at  Bureau,  for  example,  obtain 
water  from  the  Pennsylvanian  rocks. 

The  older  formations  outcrop  more  or  less  extensively  in  neighboring 
areas,  where  they  have  been  studied  in  some  detail.  The  general  char- 
acteristics which  they  there  possess  are  believed  to  hold  in  the  area  here 
described.  Deep  borings  are  so  few,  however,  that  it  cannot  be  affirmed 
with  certainty  that  all  the  formations  mentioned  below  extend  through- 
out the  area,  nor  that  others  do  not  exist  in  parts  of  it.  Figure  15 
shows  in  the  order  of  their  occurrence,  the  formations  encountered  by 
the  deepest  wells  of  the  region.  The  general  succession  of  events  re- 
corded by  these  formations  may  be  very  briefly  indicated,  commencing 
with  the  oldest  formation. 

Lower  Magnesian  limestone. — This  formation,  which  is  reached  by 
£he  artesian  wells  at  Princeton,  is  the  oldest  formation  exposed  within 
the  State.  It  may  be  seen  a  few  miles  beyond  the  area  under  consider- 
ation, near  Utica.  Here  an  up-warping  of  the  beds  has  exposed  forma- 
tions, which  a  short  distance  to  the  west  are  deeply  buried. 


BARROWS.] 


BED    ROCKS    OF    THE    REGION. 


21 


The  Lower  Magnesian  formation  is  in  north  central  Illinois  a  com- 
plex series  of  beds,  containing  many  layers  of  limestone  and  sandstone. 

The    limestone    beds    are    made    up 


Q 


CZ 


^ 


S 


T~T. 


J~~r 


1=3 


rzr 


^ 


t^t 


chief!}'  of  the  remains  of  marine  ani- 
mals, which  dwelt  in  clear  and  quiet, 
but  only  moderately  deep  water. 
During  the  formation  of  these  beds 
the  areas  of  accumulation  were 
therefore  beyond  the  reach  of 
abundant  sediments  from  the  land. 
The  associated  sandstone  layers  show 
that  now  and  again  sands  were 
washed  to  the  places  under  consider- 
ation. The  alternation  of  limestone 
and  sandstone  layers  may  have  been 
brought  about  by  variation  in  (1) 
the  depth  of  the  water,  (2)  the 
strength  of  waves  and  currents,  (3) 
the  height  of  the  adjacent  land,  or 
(4)  the  volume  of  the  streams  drain- 
ing the  land.  An  influx  of  sand 
would  be  invited  by  shoal  waters, 
strong  waves  and  currents,  and  high 
land  drained  by  large  streams.  The 
Lower  Magnesian  limestone  is 
widely  distributed  outside  the  area 
considered  in  this  report,  registering 
conditions  similar  to  those  described 
above  over  a  large  area  in  the  north 
ern  Mississippi  basin. 

St.  Peters  sandstone. — During  the 

epoch    following   the   deposition    of 

the  Lower  Magnesian  limestone,  the 

region     was     covered     with     water 

sufficiently   shallow   to   insure   the   uninterrupted    deposition    of    sand. 

These  conditions  are  recorded  by  the  St.  Peters  sandstone,  which  has  a 

thickness  of  over  150  feet  at  Princeton. 

Like  the  subjacent  formation,  the  St.  Peters  sandstone  has  a  wide 
distribution  beyond  the  area  here  considered.  It  is  commonly  very 
porous,  and  so  an  important  reservoir  for  artesian  waters. 

Trenton-Galena  limestone. — This  limestone  implies  another  change 
in  the  conditions  of  sedimentation,  the  probable  nature  of  which  will 
be  readily  inferred  from  preceding  paragraphs.  A  slight  deepening  of 
the  water  or  a  lowering  of  the  land  appears  to  have  excluded  the  waste 
from  the  land,  and  permitted  the  remains  of  lime-secreting  organisms- 
to  gather  upon  the  floor  of  the  shallow  sea  until  a  deposit  over  400 


Pennsylvanian 
shale,    sandstone, 
limestone,  and 
coal  (40C). 


Devonian  shale  and 
limestone  (100'). 


Niagara  limestone 
(350') . 


Cincinnati  shale 
(175'). 


Trenton-Galena 
limestone  (400') . 


[   St .  Peters  sandstone 
J        (150') . 


!■  Lower  Magnesian 
limestone  (450'?). 


Fig.  15.  Section  showing  rock  formations  that 
are  penetrated  by  the  deepest  wells  of  the 
northern  part  of  the  area. 


22  THE   MIDDLE   ILLINOIS   VALLEY.  [bull.  no.  15 

feet  in  thickness  was  formed.  Fine  sand  and  shales  at  the  bottom  of  the 
formation  suggest  a  gradual  transition  from  the  conditions  of  the  pre- 
ceding epoch. 

Cincinnati  {Hudson  River)  shales. — The  next  younger  formation  is 
composed  primarily  of  shale,  and  subordinately  of  limestone.  During 
the  greater  part  of  the  epoch  the  region  would  therefore  appear  to 
have  been  in  the  outer  part  of  the  zone  within  which  the  waste  of  the 
land  accumulates,  and  beyond  the  reach  of  coarse  sediment.  An  oc- 
casional clarifying  of  the  ocean  water  would  have  allowed  the  formation 
of  the  associated  limestone.  The  formation  has  a  thickness  of  175  feet 
at  Princeton. 

Niagara  limestone. — The  Cincinnati  formation  is  overlain  in  this 
region  by  some  325  to  350  feet  of  limestone  comprising  the  Niagara 
formation.  This  limestone  points  to  conditions  of  sedimentation  with 
which  we  have  become  familiar;  a  sea  deep  enough  so  that  waves  and 
currents  were  ineffective  at  the  bottom,  upon  which  the  remains  of 
thousands  of  generations  of  sea  animals  gathered. 

Devonian  shales  and  limestones. — Artesian  wells  at  Hennepin  and 
Princeton  show  100  feet  of  shales  and  limestones  resting  upon  the 
Niagara  formation.  The  Devonian  system  of  rocks,  to  which  they  are 
thought  to  belong,  is  separated  in  northern  Illinois  from  both  the  under- 
lying and  overlying  beds  by  an  erosion  surface.  Each  of  the  erosion 
surfaces  (unconformities)  indicates  (1)  a  period  of  submergence  dur- 
ing which  the  beds  below  the  unconformity  were  deposited,  (2)  emerg- 
ence, due  to  elevation  of  the  sea  floor  or  lowering  of  the  water  surface, 
(3)  a  period  during  which  the  exposed  beds  suffered  erosion,  (4)  sub- 
mergence, and  (5)  the  deposition  of  the  younger  beds  upon  the  eroded 
surface  of  the  older  formation. 

The  beds  which  overlie  the  Devonian  are  the  Pennsylvanian  beds, 
whose  formation  during  a  long  period  of  oscillation  when  the  region 
stood  at  and  near  sea  level,  has  already  been  described. 

Time  involved. — The  remarkable  series  of  events  outlined  above  cov- 
ered a  period  of  vast  length.  While  it  will  never  be  possible  to  deter- 
mine its  length  accurately,  it  doubtless  comprised  many  millions  of 
years. 

Uplift  and  erosion. — Following  the  deposition  of  the  Pennsylvanian 
beds,  the  region  under  discussion  was  exposed  as  land  and,  so  far  as 
known,  never  again  submerged  beneath  the  sea.  The  new  land  surface 
probably  had  some  such  topography  as  a  plain  formed  by  the  with- 
drawal of  the  waters  off  the  east  coast  of  the  United  States  would  have. 
That  is,  it  probably  possessed  a  moderate  seaward  slope,  with  incon- 
spicuous minor  unevennesses.  Since  cementation  is  usually  a  very  slow 
process,  the  material  of  the  new  land  may  well  have  been  feebly  and  im- 
perfectly bound  together. 

The  new  land  surface  became  at  once  the  scene  of  activities  which 
are  now  in  progress  in  the  region,  and  are  therefore  a  matter  of  common 
observation.  Then  as  now  the  rain  penetrated  the  pores  of  the  rocks 
and  often  removed  their  soluble  materials.  Surface  rocks  were  split 
and  broken  through  alternate  expansion  and  contraction  under  the  in- 
fluence of  heat  and  cold.     Fragments  of  rock  were  pried  off  by  the 


barrows.]  BED    ROCKS   OF   THE    REGION.  23 

freezing  of  water  in  the  cracks  and  interstices.  By  these  and  other 
processes  of  weathering,  constant  additions  were  made  to  the  initially 
loose  surface  material. 

Furthermore,  then  as  now,  the  finer  surface  material  was  frequently 
shifted  from  place  to  place.  Winds  probably  blew  dust  and  sand  in 
quantity  from  bare  surfaces  and  deposited  it  elsewhere.  The  effect 
was  to  roughen  the  surface,  lowering  it  in  some  places,  and  building  it 
up  in  others.  Such  rain  as  did  not  immediately  sink  into  the  ground, 
or  evaporate,  ran  oif  the  surface.  If,  as  suggested,  the  general  seaward 
slope  of  the  land  was  modified  by  minor  slopes,  the  run-off  would  be 
uneven,  concentrating  along  the  lowest  lines  of  descent.  Clay,  sand, 
and  at  times  perhaps  coarser  materials  were  dragged  and  pushed  down- 
slope,  in  largest  quantity  along  those  lines  where  the  volume  of  the 
run-off  was  greatest.  The  greater  removal  of  material  along  such  lines 
created  depressions,  which  were  steadily  enlarged  by  the  waters  which 
subsequently  flowed  through  them.  These  depressions  were  valleys. 
When  their  bottoms  were  worn  below  the  level  at  which  the  rocks  were 
full  of  water,  water  from  either  side  flowed  into  and  along  the  valleys, 
forming  permanent  streams.  Much  of  the  rock  waste  washed  by  the 
streams  along  their  channel  floors  was  carried  beyond  the  area  under 
discussion,  to  the  sea. 

The  effect  of  cutting  many  valleys  was  to  make  the  originally  flatfish 
surface  rough.  But  streams  cannot  erode  their  channels  much  below 
the  surface  of  the  lake,  sea,  or  other  river  into  which  they  flow,  and 
can  reduce  them  to  that  level  only  at  and  near  their  mouths.  As  they  cut 
their  valleys  toward  this  final  level  their  gradients  become  less  and  less 
steep  and  their  currents  therefore  more  and  more  gentle.  When  they  be- 
come sluggish,  the  streams  may  be  readily  turned  aside  by  obstacles,  and 
directed  against  the  valley  sides.  Side  cutting  develops  a  valley  flat 
at  the  expense  of  the  inter-valley  uplands.  The  latter  are  also  reduced 
by  other  agents  which  aid  the  streams,  and  the  entire  surface  may 
finally  be  worn  down  to  a  flatfish  plain,  as  near  sea  level  as  running 
water  can  bring  it.  Such  a  plain  is  a  base-level  plain.  A  plain  in  the 
stage  of  development  preceding  this  final  condition,  is  a  peneplain.  Its 
surface  is  usually  characterized  by  isolated  hills  formed  of  resistant  ma- 
terial or  so  situated  as  to  have  escaped  erosion,  which  rise  abruptly  above 
their  nearly  level  surroundings.  The  time  necessary  for  the  production 
of  a  base-level  plain  is  a  cycle  of  erosion. 

If  a  base-level  plain  be  elevated  and  the  slope  of  its  streams  thereby 
increased,  they  begin  at  once  to  lower  their  channels,  and  unless  pre- 
vented by  other  geological  agents,  will  in  time  again  reduce  the  area 
to  base-level.  The  region  considered  in  the  report  may  have  been  base- 
leveled  more  than  once  before  the  advent  of  the  ice  sheets  that  deposited 
the  clay,  sand,  and  gravel  which  commonly  cover  deeply  the  bed  rock. 
Such  a  possibility  is  especially  likely  since  extensive  base-leveling  is 
known  to  have  occurred  in  a  large  unglaciated  area  in  northwestern 
Illinois  and  adjacent  states. 


24 


THE    MIDDLE    ILLINOIS   VALLEY. 


[BULL.   NO.  15 


If  a  sufficient  number  of  wells  reached  the  bed  rock  and  their  records 
were  available,  it  would  be  possible  to  describe  in  detail  the  relief  of  the 
underlying  rock,  but  unfortunately  for  this  purpose,  the  great  majority 
of  the  wells  terminate  in  the  glacial  material,  and  only  a  general  notion 
of  the  topography  before  the  deposition  of  the  glacial  mantle  may  be 
obtained.  The  principal  feature  of  the  pre-glacial  topography  was  the 
Rock-Illinois  valley  (Fig.  16),  whose  floor  is  shown  by  well  borings 
at  several  places  to  be  about  100  feet  below  the  level  of  the  present  river. 


Fig.  16.    Map  showing  portion  of  pre-glacial  Rock— Illinois  river  system.    (Leverett.) 


It  has  been  conjectured  that  the  pre-glacial  Eock-Illinois  river  was 
joined  by  the  upper  Mississippi  at  a  point  to  the  north  of  Hennepin 
(Fig.  16),  though  this  is  by  no  means  proven.  The  pre-glacial  uplands 
were  apparently  much  dissected  by  tributary  valleys,  and  rose  in  places 
nearly  450  feet  above  the  Rock-Illinois  channel.  The  region  appears 
to  have  been  a  rugged  hill  and  valley  country,  possibly  closely  re- 
sembling the  unglaciated  area  of  the  northwestern  corner  of  the  State. 


BARROWS.] 


THE   GLACIAL    PERIOD. 


25 


CHAPTER  III. 


THE  GLACIAL  PERIOD. 

The  mantle  rock  of  the  area  is  of  foreign  derivation. — As  indicated 
on  preceding  pages,  the  Pennsylvanian  rocks  of  the  region  of  the  middle 
Illinois  are  generally  covered  with  clay,  sand,  and  gravel  to  an  average 
thickness  of  probably  over  200  feet.  These  materials  occur  separately 
in  many  places,  and  are  elsewhere  confusedly  mixed  in  all  possible  pro- 
portions. It  has  long  been  known  that  this  mantle  rock  was  not  pro- 
duced by  the  weathering  of  the  underlying  rocks,  for  it  contains  much 
material,  for  example  bowlders  of  igneous  rocks,  to  which  the  decay 
of  the  bed  rocks  could  not  give  rise.1  This  fact  is  also  shown  by  oc- 
casional exposures  of  the  contact  between  the  mantle  rock  and  the  under- 
lying rock.  Mantle  rock  formed  in  place  normally  grades  more  or  less 
insensibly  into  the  firm  rock  beneath  (Fig.  IT).  This  is  a  consequence 
of  the  gradual  downward  diminution  of  the  work  of  the  atmosphere, 
ground  waters,  plants,  animals,  and  other  agents  of  weathering.  At 
the   exposures   in   question,   however,   the   surface   material   gives   place 


Fiq.  17.    Diagram  showing  the  relation  of  mantle  rock  to  the  underlying  rock  from  which  it  was  derived. 

(Courtesy  of  U.  S.  Geol.  Surv.) 


abruptly  to  the  unaltered  rock  below  as  suggested  in  Figure  18.  The 
mantle  rock  of  this  region,  therefore,  was  brougni  to  its  present  position 
by  one  or  more  of  the  agents  which  transport  materials  upon  the  land. 
Together  with  similarly  imported  materials  which  have  wide  distribu- 


1  The  foreign  derivation  of  the  granite  bowlders  was  discussed  as  follows  in  1836:  "Bowlders,  or 
detached  masses  of  stone,  are  occasionally  seen  on  the  prairies,  lying  loosely  on  the  ground,  not  only  en- 
tirely separate  from  the  limestone  pan  beneath,  but  differing  from  it  in  kind.  They  are  obviously  not 
meteoric;  and  it  seems  that  they  have  been  wrenched  from  their  native  beds,  and  brought  to  the  places 
where  they  are  now  seen,  by  some  great  convulsion  of  nature.  They  are  granite,  and  there  is  no  spot  at 
which  that  description  of  rock  exists,  and  from  which  they  could  have  been  brought,  nearer  than  the 
Allegheny,  or  the  Rocky  mountains,  or  the  northern  shores  of  the  lakes.  Yet  they  are  numerously  scat- 
tered throughout  Illinois  and  Missouri. "    (Hall:    Statistics  of  the  West  (1836),  p.  95.) 


26 


THE    MIDDLE    ILLINOIS   VALLEY. 


[BULL.    NO.  15 


tion  over  the  northern  part  of  the  United  States,  it  is  known  as  drift. 
This  term  was  applied  under  the  impression  that  it  had  been  drifted 
by  waters  to  its  present  situation  from  outside  sources. 


~^T -TT"       1 

■:.-*+<  •••V.V/.V 

II! 

1        1        1        1         1         1         1          1         II, 

II         III         ii         1          1         I 

1        1        1         1         1          II          1         1         •         * 

111!            1            I'            1            1            1      ' 

Fig.  18.    Diagram  to  show  the  relation  of  drift  to  the  underlying  roc  1. 

The  transporting  agent. — Plate  6,  B  shows  a  typical  exposure  of  un- 
stratified  drift  (till)  near  Henry.  Similar  exposures  may  be  seen 
throughout  the  region.  As  in  the  illustration,  the  till  usually  consists 
of  material  of  many  kinds  and  sizes,  and  is  not  in  layers.  Some  of  the 
angular  stones  and  bowlders  have  flat  faces,  often  highly  polished,  and 
covered  with  minute  scratches  (Plate  7).  The  drift  is  sometimes 
(often  in  other  areas)  quite  irregularly  disposed,  so  as  to  occasion  hilly 
belts  and  undrained  depressions.  The  stones  and  bowlders  are  frequently 
of  kinds  which  do  not  occur  as  bed  rock  nearer  than  Canada.  The 
transporting  agent,  therefore,  gathered  its  load  from  an  area  suffi- 
ciently large  to  yield  many  different  kinds  of  rock,  and  was  capable 
of  carrying  large  bowlders  as  well  as  fine  clay,  sometimes  for  great  dis- 
tances. It  was  capable,  furthermore,  of  giving  a  part  of  the  stones  it 
carried  the  characteristics  noted  above,  but  was  incapable  of  arranging 
its  irregular  deposits  in  layers. 

It  is  evident  that  the  transporting  agent  in  question  was  neither  the 
wind  nor  running  water.  The  size  of  the  material  would,  among  other 
things,  at  once  exclude  the  former,  while  various  considerations  as  ef- 
fectually dispose  of  the  latter.  The  largest  bowlders  of  the  till,  weighing 
tons,  are  far  beyond  the  transporting  power  of  ordinary  streams.  Streams 
tend  to  round  the  stones  rolled  along  their  channels,  and  are  unable  to  de- 
velop flat  faces.  Stream-laid  beds  are  in  layers.  The  surfaces  of  water 
deposited  beds  are  without  notable  irregularities,  such  as  occasionally 
characterize  the  till. 

Plate  6,  A  shows  irregular  deposits  recently  made  by  the  Alaskan 
glacier  in  the  background,  that  possess  all  the  characteristics  of  those 
shown  in  Plate  6,  B.  So  far  as  observed  all  the  deposits  being  made 
by  existing  glaciers,  show  these  same  characteristics.  Since  existing 
glaciers  are  developing  exactly  the  features  belonging  to  the  drift  of 
the  ar^a  under  discussion,  and  since  no  other  agent  is  known,  capable 
of  so  doing,  we  may  confidently  conclude  that  the  region  of  the  middle 
Illinois  was  formerly  covered  by  glacier  ice.  This  glacier  was  as  ex- 
tensive as  the  till  is  widespread,  and  is  therefore  known  to  have  cov- 
ered at  its  maximum  development,  the  area  shown  in  Figure  19. 

The  glaciation  of  the  region  complex. — Further  considerations  make 
it  apparent  that  this  area  was  invaded  by  glaciers  more  than  once,  and 


STATE   GEOLOGICAL   SURVEY. 


Bull.  No.  15,  Plate  6. 


A .    An  Alaskan  glacier  and  a  portion  of  its  deposits .    Angular  material  similar  to  that  in  the  lower  right 
hand  corner  extends  back  to  the  point  "A",  where  it  rises  up  out  of  the  ice.    (Photo  by  Martin.) 


WyS^y  j^&fe5*t    i»Eta£K4£HKk2  ii 

w!Z^^^p%^^f^^^^^^ 

s^^^g^ 

;...*•;:■' '.-.!$*'?  :■'■:;"'. 

«•..«•         '    '     .     "   -   i,*"**  -     S~Z~*       M^*-~        ■»-.'>"   ■!» 

I^H^R2@«lJ^    ^•••'  I^-JmSfS. 

sP3ll»^ 

'£:*":+ 

»/?-•  <^l» 

I^HEScSy 

-til 

Blair 

'3&tt¥&w    : 

Wk  -fa. 

B.    Typical  exposure  of  till  near  Henry.    (Photo  by  Crane.) 


BARROWS.] 


THE   GLACIAL    PERIOD. 


27 


at  widely  separated  intervals.  A  recent  cut  of  the  Peoria  and  Bloom- 
ington  Electric  Railroad,  near  the  former  city,  shows  the  following  beds, 
number  1  being  the  lowermost  and  therefore  the  oldest: 


Thickness. 


4.    Stony  till— Bottom  14ft.  blue  and  highly  calcareous;  upper  25-30  ft.  brown; 

upper  4-5  ft .  non-calcareous,  and  reddish-yellow  in  color 

3.    Bull'  to  yellow,  non-calcareous  silt  (Loess)— Pebbleless;  contains  many  small 

snail  shells;  bottom  6  inches  drab-gray  color 

2.    Gray  to  jet  black  clay— Black  portion  contains  much  humus,  together  with 

many  twigs  and  small  branches 

1 .    Till 


39-45  ft 

5-5J  ft 

30-34  in 

Few  inches  exposed  at 
base  of  section 


This  section  records  the  following  sequence  of  events.  (1)  The  pres- 
ence of  the  ice  sheet  by  which  the  till  (No.  1)  was  deposited.  (2)  An 
amelioration  of  climate  which  caused  the  ice  to  melt  back  so  far  and 


Fig.  19. 


Map  showing  maximum  extent  of  ice  sheets  of  Glacial  period  in  North  America.  (U.  S.  Geol- 

Surv.) 


28  THE   MIDDLE   ILLINOIS   VALLEY.  [bull.  no.  15 

remain  away  so  long  that  plant  life,  slowly  invading  the  abandoned  area, 
grew  upon  the  deposits  left  by  the  ice,  decaying  roots,  leaves,  twigs,  etc., 
mingling  with  the  clay  to  form  a  layer  of  soil  (No.  2).  (3)  The  depos- 
ition thereon  by  wind  or  water  of  fine  silt  (No.  3).  (4)  Since  the  silt 
(loess)  of  this  horizon  is  elsewhere  calcareous,  save  in  its  uppermost 
portion,  it  seems  reasonable  to  suppose  that  the  silt  of  this  section  was 
also  originally  calcareous.  If  so,  its  deposition  was  followed  by  a  period 
of  weathering,  during  which  the  loess  was  leached  of  its  calcareous  con- 
stituents. That  such  leaching  occurred  before  the  deposition  of  the 
overlying  material  is  evident  from  the  fact  that  the  bottom  of  the  till 
which  rests  upon  the  loess  is  highly  calcareous.  (5)  A  readvance  of  the 
ice.  which  overrode  the  earlier  beds  and  deposited  the  till  indicated  by 
No.  4. 

South  of  Peoria,  the  valleys  tributary  to  the  Illinois  are,  on  the 
average,  larger  and  more  numerous  than  those  north  of  the  city,  and  the 
upland  is,  in  consequence,  more  dissected.  Since  these  valleys  are  de- 
veloped in  material  of  essentially  the  same  resistance,  this  indicates  that 
the  drift  area  to  the  south  has  been  longer  exposed  to  the  work  of  the 
agents  by  which  valleys  are  developed,  than  has  that  to  the  north,  or  in 
other  words  that  the  drift  sheets  in  which  these  different  sets  of  valleys 
have  formed,  are  of  unequal  age.  Figure  2  shows  the  difference  between 
the  Spoon  river  and  the  lower  Sangamon  river  systems,  developed  in 
the  area  of  the  older  drift,  and  the  drainage  systems  of  the  younger 
drift.  The  former  have  numerous  tributaries  which  branch  widely;  the 
latter  display  little  branching.  The  greater  age  of  the  southern  drift 
sheet  is  also  indicated  by  the  fact  that  ground  waters  have  removed 
its  soluble  constituents  and  oxidation  has  given  it  a  brownish-yellow 
color  to  a  greater  depth  than  in  the  case  of  the  northern  sheet.  From 
such  considerations  as  the  foregoing,  it  has  been  determined  that  there 
were  five  distinct  invasions  of  the  United  States  by  glaciers  during  the 
Glacial  period.  These  epochs  of  ice  invasion  were  separated  by  periods 
when  the  ice  retreated  an  unknown  distance  to  the  northward,  and  the 
abandoned  areas  experienced  the  more  familiar  geological  work  of  the 
atmosphere  and  of  running  water.  There  were  also  minor  advances  and 
retreats,  evidence  of  which  in  the  area  under  discussion,  appears  below. 
The  general  sequence  of  events  during  the  Glacial  period  is  traced  in 
the  following  pages  in  so  far  as  it  affected  the  region  of  the  middle 
Illinois  river. 

The  formation  of  the  glaciers. — At  the  beginning  of  the  G-lacial 
period  the  climate  of  northeastern  Canada  became  such  that  in  certain 
areas  more  snow  fell  each  winter  than  melted  and  evaporated  during 
the  ensuing  summer.  The  resulting  accumulation  of  snow  constituted 
a  snow  field.  It  increased  in  thickness  with  the  contributions  of  suc- 
cessive winters.  It  became  larger  as  the  conditions  of  excess  of  snowfall 
over  snow  waste  were  extended.  This  extension  the  snowfleld  itself 
promoted  by  lowering  the  temperature  of  the  surrounding  atmosphere, 
thus  inviting  an  increasing  proportion  of  the  precipitation  in  the  form 
•of  snow,  and  at  the  same  time  retarding  melting  and  evaporation. 


STATE   GEOLOGICAL   SURVEY 


Bull.  No.  15,  Plate  7, 


BARROWS.J  THE   GLACIAL    PERIOD.  29 

Meanwhile  the  snow  field  became  an  ice  field  by  the  same  processes 
which  each  winter  transform  many  snow  banks  into  ice  banks,  (1) 
The  bottom  snow  was  compressed  by  the  weight  of  that  above,  the  re- 
sult being  something  like  that  when  loose  snow  is  packed  into  an  ice-like 
ball  in  the  hands.  (2)  Water  from  rains  and  from  surface  melt- 
ing during  the  warmer  periods  sank  into  the  snow  beneath  and  freezing,, 
formed  ice  which  helped  to  cement  the  mass  together.  (3)  The  snow 
crystals  underwent  changes  in  form  which  aided  in  the  development  of 
compactness. 

From  the  circumstances  of  its  development,  the  growing  ice-field,, 
with  its  cover  of  lately  fallen  snow,  had  greatest  thickness  in  the  center, 
diminishing  more  or  less  regularly  to  the  margins,  where  wastage  bal- 
anced snowfall.  The  pressure  upon  the  bottom  ice  was  accordingly 
greatest  near  the  center,  decreasing  to  zero  at  the  edges.  In  conse- 
quence the  ice  slowly  spread  in  all  directions  under  its  own  weight.  The 
ice-field  had  become  a  glacier. 

In  the  general  way  indicated,  one  glacier  or  ice  sheet  developed  east 
of  Hudson  Bay,  while  a  second  formed  to  the  west  (Fig.  19).  Slowly 
spreading  by  marginal  addition  of  snow  as  well  as  by  movement,  these 
glaciers  joined  south  of  Hudson  Bay,  and  in  the  course  of  the  Glacial 
period  covered  the  area  already  referred  to  in  Figure  19. 

The  Illinoian  stage  of  glacmtion. — So  far  as  known,  the  area  described 
in  the  report  was  invaded  only  by  ice  from  the  Labrador  region,  moving 
in  a  general  south-southwesterly  direction.  The  direction  in  which  the 
ice  moved  is  shown  by  the  direction  in  which  the  material  of  the  drift 
was  transported,  and  by  the  trend  of  the  margins  of  the  till  sheets  which 
occur  within  the  region.  The  first  invasion  of  this  region  that  has  been 
recognized  was  the  third  invasion  of  the  United  States.  It  is  known  as 
the  Illinoian  stage  of  glaciation  and  its  deposits  as  the  Illinoian  drift. 

As  suggested  on  page  24,  a  general  notion  of  the  character  of  the 
topography  at  the  coming  of  the  ice  may  be  had  from  the  records  of 
wells  scattered  throughout  the  area.  They  show  that  the  present  Illi- 
nois river  below  Hennepin  follows  the  course  of  a  great  pre-glacial  valley 
.(Fig.  16),  whose  floor  was  some  100  feet  below  the  present  stream  bed. 
This  valley  was  bordered  by  uplands  that  appear  to  have  been  well  dis- 
sected by  small  valleys,  and  that  in  places  were  nearly  450  feet  above 
the  Bock-Illinois  river.  The  surface  of  the  ground  was  presumably 
mantled  by  loose  material  derived  from  the  underlying  rocks. 

Many  erosion  slopes  faced  the  invading  ice  and  acted  as  obstacles  to 
its  advance.  The  relatively  thin  edge  of  the  ice  sheet,  thus  opposed, 
probably  crept  very  slowly  over  the  uneven  ground.  Its  first  effect  was 
doubtless  to  remove  the  loose  surface  material.  Wherever  the  water  in 
the  soil  upon  which  the  ice  encroached  was  frozen,  it  cemented  the  soil 
particles  into  a  firm  mass.  Wherever  this  ice-cemented  soil  became 
frozen  to  the  glacier  ice  above,  it  became,  in  effect,  a  part  of  the  ice 
sheet,  and  was  likely  to  be  carried  on  by  its  further  movement.  Some 
loose  material  may  at  times  have  been  pushed  forward  by  the  advancing 
ice  edge,  though  the  great  mass  of  it  was  probably  gathered  by  the  under 


30  THE   MIDDLE    ILLINOIS   VALLEY.  [bull.  no.  15 

surface  of  the  ice.  Such  material  may  have  been  dropped  and  picked 
up  again  many  times  before  reaching  a  final  resting  place.  Elevations 
in  the  path  of  the  ice  might  occasion  lodgment.  Moving  vigorously  over 
a  surface  yielding  abundant  material,  the  ice  might  gather  a  load  which 
it  was  presently,  under  changed  conditions,  unable  to  move.  At  its 
edge  the  moving  ice  was  continually  melting,  the  excess  of  movement 
over  melting  being  the  measure  of  its  advance.  In  consequence  of  this 
marginal  wastage,  rock  material  picked  up  by  the  ice  at  some  distance 
back  from,  its  edge  would,  if  not  dropped,  find  itself  in  time  at  the 
margin,  whose  melting  would  occasion  its  deposition.  Overridden  by 
the  advancing  ice,  it  might  once  more  be  taken  up,  to  be  again  dropped 
after  a  longer  or  shorter  journey.  The  removal  of  the  loose  surface 
material  was  undoubtedly  followed  by  more  or  less  erosion  of  the  bed 
rock.  This  is  largely  a  matter  of  inference,  as  the  bed  rock  is  for  the 
most  part  buried  deeply  by  drift.  Since  it  is  much  softer  than  rock, 
pure  ice  accomplishes  little  or  no  wear  upon  its  bed,  rather  is  it  worn 
by  the  harder  rock.  As  indicated  above,  however,  the  bottom  ice  was 
charged  with  rock  fragments  and  thus  armed,  glaciers  become  efficient 
agents  of  erosion.  Their  rock  tools  are  pressed  with  great  force  upon 
the  surfaces  over  and  against  which  they  move,  and  each  kind  accom- 
plishes its  appropriate  work.  Clay  particles  tend  to  smooth  and  polish, 
sand  grains  and  hard  pebbles  to  scratch  (striate)  and  bowlders  to  groove 
and  gouge  the  bed  rock.  Meanwhile,  the  tools  are  themselves  worn. 
The  weaker  ones  are  presently  ground  into  fine  bits.  The  stronger  are 
typically  marked,  their  sides  being  worn  flat  and  like  the  bed  rock,  often 
polished  by  clay  and  striated  by  sand  (Plate  7).  Such  glaciated  stones 
may  be  seen  in  almost  every  exposure  of  till  throughout  the  region. 

The  effect  of  glacier  erosion  was  probably  to  plane  away  minor  ir- 
regularities of  the  surface,  reducing  and  smoothing  the  slopes.  Where 
hill  tops  were  worn,  the  tendency  was  to  reduce  the  pre-glacial  relief. 
Where  the  ice  moved  along  the  axes  of  valleys  it  tended  to  widen  and 
deepen  them,  and  so  to  increase  the  relief.  Where  it  crossed  valleys, 
the  ice  was  likely  to  erode  chiefly  the  sides  out  over  which  it  moved. 

The  Illinoian  ice  sheet  covered  the  entire  area  under  description  and, 
pushed  well  beyond  it.  On  the  west  it  crossed  the  Mississippi  river 
and  advanced  some  distance  into  Iowa,  while  it  fell  short  of  the  Ohio 
river  at  the  south  by  only  a  few  miles  (Fig.  20).  This  was  the  limit 
of  its  advance,  because  here  wastage  balanced  movement.  It  is  evident 
that  all  material  moved  by  the  ice  to  the  limit  of  its  advance  would  be 
deposited,  and  that  the  longer  the  ice  edge  remained  stationary  the  more 
considerable  the  deposit  would  be.  The  resulting  thickened  edge  of  a 
drift  sheet  is  called  a  terminal  moraine. 

After  a  time,  wastage  exceeded  forward  movement  and  the  edge  of 
the  Illinoian  ice  accordingly  withdrew  from  the  area  covered  bv  this 
report,  and  from  much  or  all  of  the  territory  it  had  covered  within  the 
limits  of  the  United  States.  As  it  melted  back,  all  the  material  that 
had  been  on  top  of  the  ice,  in  the  ice,  and  beneath  the  ice  was  left  on 
the  deserted  surface,  together  with  the  material  that  had  been  deposited 


BARROWS. J 


THE    GLACIAL    PERIOD. 


31 


^ 


YZA 


Driftless  area 
|:      vi  {    Moraines 

lllinoian  drift 


I  |  I   I  I    lowan  drift 

Loess  and  sand  ridges 


drift  border 
Shelbyville  till  sheet 

Early  Wisconsin) 

Champaign  till  sheet 

{Early  Wisconsin) 

Bloomington  till  sheet 

(Early  Wisconsin) 

Post-Bloomington  dri 


(_---Z     Lake  Chicago  and  outlet 


Fig.  20.    Generalized  glacial  map  of  Illinois.    (Data  from  Leverett's  map,  Monograph  38,  U.  S.  Geol. 

Surv.) 


32  THE   MIDDLE   ILLINOIS   VALLEY.  [bull.  no.  15 

while  the  edge  of  the  ice  was  advancing  and  while  it  remained  station- 
ary. The  material  deposited  beneath  a  glacier  back  from  the  terminal 
moraine,  constitutes  the  ground  moraine. 

Stratified  drift. — While  deposits  that  were  made  directly  by  the  ice 
are  without  stratification,  a  considerable  proportion  of  the  drift  was 
deposited  by  waters  associated  with  the  glaciers,  and  is  therefore  strati- 
fied. 

Deposits  of  this  class  were  probably  made  before  the  advent  of  the 
ice.  Waters  formed  by  melting  ice  in  some  cases  found  valleys  leading 
away  from  the  ice  front.  Loaded  with  debris  from  the  ice,  such  streams 
probably  aggraded  the  valleys  they  followed,  the  deposits  assuming  the 
structure  common  to  stream-laid  beds  (p.  8).  Such  valley  fillings, 
built  by  streams  beyond  the  ice  edge,  are  known  as  valley  trains  and 
will  receive  more  detailed  consideration  later.  When  the  advancing 
ice  occupied  the  lower  courses  of  valleys,  but  not  the  upper,  it  acted  as 
a  temporary  dam  and  formed  a  pond  or  lake,  on  whose  floor  stratified 
deposits  were  made.  The  stratified  drift  deposited  beyond  the  advancing 
ice  front  was  later  overridden  by  the  ice  sheet,  and  wholly  or  in  part 
modified,  removed,  or  buried  by  till. 

During  the  time  that  the  Illinoian  ice  sheet  covered  the  area  under 
discussion,  stratified  deposits  were  probably  making  in  places  beneath 
the  ice.  Water  from  the  surface  melting  of  summer  doubtless  found  its 
way  in  part  through  cracks  and  crevasses  to  the  bottom.  Some  melting, 
furthermore,  occurred  at  the  bottom  because  of  friction  with  the  rock 
beneath.  In  these  and  other  ways  very  considerable  quantities  of  water 
accumulated  under  the  ice,  and  were  at  certain  times  and  places  con- 
centrated into  definite  sub-glacial  streams  which  deposited  sand  and 
gravel  along  their  channels.  These  deposits  may  have  been  laid  down 
upon  bed  rock,  upon  earlier  stratified  drift,  or  upon  till,  and  may  have 
been  subsequently  covered  by  later  deposits,  either  stratified  or  unstrat- 
ified. 

During  the  withdrawal  of  the  ice  from  the  region,  glacial  waters 
tended  to  make  deposits  similar  to  those  formed  during  its  advance. 
These  deposits,  in  so  far  as  they  were  made  by  waters  flowing  outward 
from  the  ice  edge,  were  not  subject  to  modification  or  burial  by  the 
Illinoian  ice. 

From  the  foregoing  it  will  be  seen  (1)  that  glacial  waters  tended 
to  form  stratified  drift  in  certain  places  under  the  ice  and  at  and  beyond 
its  edges,  during  its  advance  over  the  area,  while  it  covered  the  region, 
and  during  its  retreat  from  it;  and  (2)  that  such  stratified  drift  may 
be  under,  within,  or  on  top  of  unstratified  drift  deposited  directly  by  the 
ice.  Further  complexity  in  the  deposits  of  an  ice  sheet  is  brought  about 
by  the  fact  that  the  advance  and  retreat  of  its  edge  are  commonly  in- 
terrupted by  temporary  halts  and  minor  movements  in  the  opposite 
direction.  It  is  therefore  not  surprising  that  locally,  as  along  the  valley 
of  Kickapoo  creek  and  the  Illinois  river  near  Peoria,  much  stratified 
sand  and  gravel  occurs  in  the  Illinoian  drift.  In  keeping  with  the  above 
principles,   also,   limited   exposures   of   stratified   gravel   appear   in   the 


BARROWS.] 


THE   GLACIAL    PERIOD. 


33 


midst  of  the  till  at  numerous  points,  apparently  marking  the  sites  of 
glacial  streams.  This  gravel  has  been  frequently  cemented  by  deposition 
of  material  from  solution  in  ground  water,  so  that  it  forms  a  rock  suffi- 
ciently strong  to  have  been  used  for  the  foundations  of  buildings. 

The  Illinoian  till  is  commonly  yellow  or  yellow-brown  in  the  upper 
10-15  feet,  because  of  the  oxidation  of  its  iron;  it  grades  downward  into 
unweathered  gray  till. 

Effect  of  the  Illinoian  glaciation  upon  topography. — The  general  ef- 
fect of  the  Illinoian  glaciation  of  the  region  was  to  reduce  its  relief. 
With  the  exception  of  the  Illinois  valley,  the  pre-glacial  erosion  channels 
seem  to  have  been  largely  or  wholly  filled  with  drift  and  to  have  prac- 
tically ceased  to  exist  as  surface  features.  An  essentially  plane  surface 
replaced  the  rugged  pre-glacial  topography.  This  change  is  illustrated 
in  Figure  21. 


Fig.  21.    Diagram  to  illustrate  how  rough  pre-glacial  topography  may  be  replaced  by  a  smooth  surface 
through  the  deposition  of  drift. 

Another  important  consequence  of  the  glaciation  of  the  region,  which 
has  been  referred  to  the  Illinoian  stage,  was  the  diversion  of  the  upper 
portion  of  the  Eock-Illinois  river.  The  bluffs  of  the  pre-glacial  valley 
have  been  traced  by  Leverett  from  the  point  where  the  present  Bock 
river  turns  sharply  to  the  southwest  in  southern  Winnebago  county, 
nearly  to  the  southern  boundary  of  Ogle  county,  where  they  disappear 
beneath  a  heavy  deposit  of  drift.  Well  records  seem  to  show  that  the 
old  valley  continues  past  Princeton  to  the  bend  of  the  Illinois  at  Hen- 
nepin. The  displacement  of  the  river  is  referred  to  this,  rather  than  to  a 
later  stage  of  glaciation  because  the  work  the  stream  has  accomplished 
in  its  new  course  seems  out  of  proportion  to  that  known  to  have  been 
done  by  other  streams  since  later  stages.  The  ice  appears  to  have  filled 
the  valley,  displacing  the  stream  to  the  westward.  When  the  ice  with- 
drew, the  valley  was  choked  with  drift  and  the  river  had  found  a  lower 
line  of  discharge  to  the  southwest,  in  part  along  the  line  of  pre-glacial 
tributary  valleys.  The  abandoned  valley  was  further  buried  by  later 
drift  sheets. 


—3  G 


34  THE   MIDDLE   ILLINOIS   VALLEY.  [bull.  no.  15 

The  Sangamon  interglacial  epoch. — At  the  withdrawal  of  the  Illi- 
noian  ice  sheet  the  area  with  which  the  report  is  concerned  became  at 
once  the  scene  of  new  activities.  Fine  material  blown  about  by  the 
winds  found  lodgment  in  new  situations  or  was  carried  outside  the  area. 
The  chemically  active  oxygen  of  the  atmosphere  entered  into  combina- 
tion with  certain  constituents  of  the  drift,  giving 'its  surface  a  color 
resembling  that  of  rusted  iron.  The  rain-water  that  sank  into  the 
ground  dissolved  the  soluble  material  near  the  surface.  The  streams 
took  up  the  task  of  reducing  the  surface  which  the  ice  had  built  up. 
The  conditions  of  their  work  were  unlike  those  which  affected  the  pre- 
glacial  streams.  In  general,  the  slopes  were  less  steep  and  the  streams, 
therefore,  more  sluggish.  This  disadvantage  was  in  some  measure  coun- 
teracted by  the  less  resistant  material  upon  which  they  worked.  The 
Illinois  was  probably  seriously  retarded  in  the  work  of  clearing  out 
its  lower  valley  by  the  loss  of  the  waters  formerly  contributed  by  the 
Eock  river.  Plants  and  animals  presently  re-established  themselves  in 
the  area,  and  influenced  the  operation  of  other  agents.  The  remains  of 
plant  life  mingled  with  the  surface  material  to  form  soil. 

The  record  of  these  interglacial  activities  is  preserved  in  the  leached 
and  reddened  upper  surface  of  the  Illinoian  till,  in  shallow  valleys,  and 
in  old  soil  layers.  These  features  were  clearly  developed  before  the 
deposition  of  the  overlying  beds,  and  may  be  seen  in  certain  places  where 
the  latter  have  been  removed  by  erosion.  The  soil  of  this  time  is  ex- 
posed at  the  point  on  the  Peoria  and  Bloomington  Electric  Eailway  re- 
ferred to  on  page  27,  and  the  weathered  surface  of  the  till  is  shown  at 
many  points  south  of  Peoria  below  a  capping  of  younger  silt. 

Judging  from  the  coniferous  trees  represented  by  bits  of  wood  pre- 
served in  the  Sangamon  soil,  it  has  been  thought  that  the  climate  of 
the  region  during  at  least  that  part  of  the  interglacial  epoch  when  these 
trees  grew,  was  much  colder  than  at  present.  The  duration  of  the  in- 
terglacial epoch  is  not  definitely  known,  but  the  weathering  accom- 
plished seems  to  indicate  thousands  of  years.  The  Sangamon  interval 
was  brought  to  a  close  by  another  epoch  of  glaciation,  known  as  the 
lowan. 

The  lowan  loess. — The  extent  of  the  ice  sheet  at  the  lowan  stage  of 
glaciation  is  indicated  by  the  extent  of  the  lowan  till.1  The  ice  is  ac- 
cordingly known  to  have  fallen  short  of  reaching  the  southern  line  of 
western  Bureau  county,  as  indicated  in  Figure  20.  .  Some  distance  west 
of  Princeton  the  southern  edge  of  the  lowan  till  passes  beneath  a  heavy 
deposiF'of  younger  drift,  so  that  its  southern  limit  wjthrn  the  arpa^of 
the  report  is  unknown.  Quite  possibly  it  did  not  extend  south  of 
Bur  eaucounty .  The  near  approach  of  the  ice  was  of  moment  to  the 
entire  area  with  which  the  bulletin  is  concerned,  however,  because  of  an 
important  deposit  of  loess  to  which  it  gave  rise.  The  loess  in  question 
is  wiclelv  distributed  bevoncl  the  area  here  described.     It  is  believed  to 


1  Question  has  recently  been  raised  concerning  the  correctness  of  the  current  interpretation  of  the 
lowan  drift. 


barrows.]  THE   GLACIAL    PERIOD.  35 

be  genetically  related  to  the  Cowan  ice  because  it  thickens  toward  the 
edge  of  the  Iowan  drift  sheet,  upon  which  it  extends  but  a  short  dis- 
tance. 

Loess  is  silt  intermediate  in  coaxseness  between  fine  sand  and  clay, 
into  both  oi'  whu-h  it  grades,  Predominantly  bull'  vollow  in  color,  it  is 
in  some  cases  dark  brown  gnri  in  others  blue  g£ay.  Ij^juineral  com- 
position  is  essentially  that  of  the  drift  from  which  it  appears  to  have 
been  derived.  Typical  loos  is  pebbleless,  without  distinct  stratification, 
and  frequently  contains  concretions  and  large  numbers  of  fossils.  The 
concretions  are  aggregations  of  lime  carbonate  of  irregular  shape  (Plate 
8,  B).  formed  by  deposition  from  solution  in  ground  water  of  material 
leached  from  the  surrounding  loess.  The  fossils  are  the  shells  of  minute 
mollusks  (gastropods)   which  were  buried   in  the  gathering  loess. 

The  loess  appears  to  have  covered  originally  the  entire  surface  of  the 
Illinoian  drift  in  this  region.  It  has  been  extensively  removed  by  erosion 
in  the  vicinity  of  the  Illinois  river,  but  often  remains  intact  upon  the  up- 
lands, where  it  has  an  average  thickness  of  12-15  feet.  The  loess  is 
composed  of  somewhat  larger  particles  and  is  more  porous  near  the 
Illinois  valley,  and  grades  inland  into  a  clayey  earth.  Numerous  ex- 
posures show  a  vertical  variation  in  the  character  of  the  loess.  At  the  top 
there  are  3-5  feet  of  weathered  brown  clayey  loess,  mixed  with  more 
or  less  humus.  When  dry,  this  top  loess  breaks  readily  into  minute  an- 
gular blocks.  It  grades  downward  into  the  typical  buff  loess,  which  is  oc- 
casionally replaced  near  the  bottom  in  the  deeper  cuts  by  a  blue-gray 
silt. 

The  origin  of  the  loess  is  a  mooted  question.  It  has  been  held  to  be 
(1)  a  wind  deposit,  (2)  a  water  deposit,  and  (3)  in  part  eolian  and  in 
part  aqueous.  The  theory  that  it  is  exclusively  a  wind  deposit  has  met 
difficulty  in  the  fact  that  it  sometimes  contains,  material  apparently  too 
coarse  to  be  handled  by  the  wind,  and  possesses  lines  of  water  sorting. 
The  theory  that  it  is  entirely  water-laid  is  opposed  by  its  presence  on 
divides  far  above  the  reach  of  depository  waters,  together  with  its  ab- 
sence from  lower  tracts  which  should  have  been  flooded  before  the  higher 
ones.  There  has  accordingly  come  to  be  rather  general  agreement  that 
both  wind  and  water  were  concerned  in  its  deposition,  but  there  re- 
mains wide  disagreement  as  to  the  relative  importance  of  the  two  agents. 
It  has  been  suggested  that  silt  that  resulted  from  glacial  grinding  may- 
have  been  carried  out  from  the  Iowan  ice  by  sluggish  aggrading  streams 
that  spread  it  broadly  over  wide  flats  at  flood  times,  from  which  it  was 
in  part  removed  by  the  wind  and  redeposited  upon  the  neighboring  up- 
lands. The  present  tendency  is  to  assign  an  eolian  origin  to  the  larger 
part  of  the  loess. 

The  Peorian  Interglaoial  epoch. — The  loess  which  caps  the  Illinoian 
drift  extends  beneath  the  Wisconsin  drift  (footnote,  p.  36),  described  be- 
low, where  the  loess  outcrops  in  certain  valley  slopes.  At  the  Peoria  and 
BloomingtoD  Eailroad  section  noted  above,  the  loess  has  a  thickness  of 
six  feet  and  is  non-calcareous.  The  blue  till  which  overlies  it  is  highly 
calcareous.     It  is  therefore  evident,  as  already  noted,  that  the  loess,  un- 


36  THE    MIDDLE    ILLINOIS   VALLEY.  [bull.  no.  15> 

doubtedly  originally  calcareous  in  common  with  the  Iowan  loess  gener- 
ally, was  leached  of  its  limey  constituents  prior  to  the  deposition  of  the 
overlying  till.  The  period  of  weathering  recorded  by  this  and  similar 
sections,  which  followed  the  deposition  of  the  Iowan  loess  and  preceded 
the  advent  of  the  Wisconsin  ice  has  been  called  the  Peorian  inter- 
glacial  epoch. 

Weathering  and  erosion  are  much  less  pronounced  than  at  the  Sanga- 
mon stage  and  so  obviously  record  a  shorter  interval. 

The  Shelby ville  ice  sheet.1 — The  erosion  and  weathering  just  noted 
were  brought  to  a  close  by  another  incursion  of  the  ice.  The  drift  sheet 
which  records  this  advance  is  named  from  the  city  of  Shelbyville,  situ- 
ated at  the  southwestern  extremity. 

Not  all  the  area  described  in  this  report  was  covered  by  this  ice  sheetr 
the  limit  of  its  advance  being  marked  by  the  Shelbyville  terminal 
moraine,  Fig.  20,  at  "A."  Since  the  ice  continually  moved  material 
forward  to  its  thinned  margin,  and  there  deposited  it,  the  submarginal 
drift  accumulated  faster  than  that  farther  back  beneath  the  ice;  and 
because  the  position  of  the  ice  edge  remained  essentially  constant  for  a 
long  period,  the  marginal  thickening  of  the  drift  became  considerable. 
This  thickened  belt  of  drift  is  the  terminal  moraine.  It  is  most  con- 
spicuous when  viewed  from  the  Illinoian  drift  plain  beyond,  above  which 
it  rises  rather  abruptly,  sometimes  as  much  as  150  feet.  The  descent 
from  it  to  the  inner  (eastern  and  northern)  plain  is  much  less,  and  is 
accomplished  more  gradually. 

The  topography  of  the  moraine  within  the  area  described  in  the  report 
is  hardly  typical  of  terminal  moraines  in  general.  Its  surface  is 
rather  smooth  and  regular,  whereas  terminal  moraines  are  more  often 
characterized  by  irregular,  hummocky  topography.  Not  infrequently 
they  contain  numerous  mounds,  hillocks,  and  short  ridges,  associated 
with  depressions  without  outlet,  which  often  contain  ponds  or  lakes, 
the  whole  huddled  together  in  confusion.  The  elevations  of  such 
moraines  range  in  diameter  from  a  few  feet  to  a  half  mile  and  more, 
and  occasionally  reach  a  height  of  100  to  200  feet,  while  the  depressions 
vary  in  depth  from  inches  to  scores  of  feet,  and  in  area  may  cover  many 
acres.  Perhaps  the  nearest  approach  to  this  type  of  topography  within 
the  area  here  considered  is  in  the  vicinity  of  Groveland,  where  shallow 
basins  two  to  six  feet  in  depth  may  be  seen  in  connection  with  low 
mounds.  Plate  8,  A  shows  morainic  topography  a  few  miles  from 
Bureau,  while  Fig.  22  illustrates  the  stronger  type  which  characterizes 
certain  other  moraines  of  northeastern  Illinois  and  Wisconsin.  It  has 
been  suggested  that  the  usual  irregular  topography  of  a  terminal 
moraine  may  have  developed  in  the  following  manner:  (1)  More  ma- 
terial was  likely  to  be  moved  to  the  vicinity  of  the  edge  of  the  ice  in  some 
places  than  in  others.  In  such  situations  the  moraine  tended  to  become 
higher  and  wider  than  elsewhere.  (2)  As  in  the  case  of  present  glaciers, 
the  edge  of  the  ice  was  doubtless  subject  to  minor  oscillations;  melting- 
back  by  summer  and  advancing  in  winter;  withdrawing  during  a  period 


1  The  drift  sheets  that  are  younger  than  the  Iowan  are  commonly  grouped  as  the  early  Wisconsin 
drift  sheets,  and  the  late  Wisconsin  drift  sheets.  The  Shelbyville  drift  and  the  Bloomington  drift  (p.  38) 
are  of  early  Wisconsin  age. 


STATE   GEOLOGICAL   SURVEY. 


Bull.  No.  15,  Plate  8. 


A.    Morainic  topography  in  northern  part  of  area,  with  gentle  swells  and  shallow  basins. 


B.    Exposure  of  loess  containing  concretions.    The  concretions  are  surrounded  with  black  lines.  (Photo 

by  Crane.) 


BARROWS.] 


THE   GLACIAL    PERIOD. 


37 


of  warmer  years,  with  winter  halts  or  short  advances,  to  recover  part  or 
all  of  the  lost  ground  during  a  period  of  cooler  years.  At  each  stage  of 
such  oscillations  the  irregular  edge  of  the  ice  may  well  have  failed  to 
be  parallel  to  many  or  all  of  its  earlier  positions  in  much  or  all  of  its 
course,  in  which  case  the  submarginal  accumulation  of  drift  then  made 
was  not  parallel  with  earlier  deposits  of  similar  origin.  Rather,  the  lines 
of  debris  marking  the  various  positions  of  the  edge  of  the  ice  crossed 
or  met  and  receded  from  one  another  many  times,  enclosing  depressions 
of  diverse  shapes  and  sizes.  (3)  The  drift  may  have  buried  great 
detached  blocks  of  ice,  which,  on  melting,  permitted  it  to  settle  un- 
equally, forming  depressions. 


Fig.  22.    Sketch  of  strongly  developed  terminal  moraine  topography. 


The  failure  of  the  Shelbyville  moraine  and  of  the  Bloomington  moraine 
(discussed  below)  to  display  pronounced  irregularities  of  surface  within 
the  area,  may  be  due  to  the  edge  of  the  ice  having  been  unusually  con- 
stant in  position  at  those  stages  and  more  or  less  uniformly  charged  with 
debris. 

The  Shelbyville  ice  appears  to  have  accomplished  little  erosion  in  this 
region,  in  numerous  places  scarcely  disturbing  the  surface  material  over 
which,  it  pushed.  This  was  probably  due  to  the  fact  that  the  flatfish 
surface  developed  by  the  earlier  glaciation  offered  little  opposition  to 
its  advance,  and  to  the  fact  also  that  the  heavily  loaded  border  of  the 
ice  sheet  which  covered  the  area  was  in  a  depositing,  rather  than  an 
eroding  condition. 

The_Shelbyville  drift  probably  does  not  contain  as  much  sand  and 
gravel  as  the  Illinoian.  The  great  mass  of  the  material  is  a  moderately 
stony-blue-elay.    This  grades  into  a  yellow  till  in  the  weathered  zone. 

The  silty  loam  which  covers  the  outer  slope  of  the  moraine  points  to 
sluggish  drainage  from  the  ice  front,  strikingly  in  contrast  with  that  at 
the  next  stage  (p.  39  et  seq).  The  absence  of  vigorous  outwash  from  the 
Shelbyville  ice  edge,  even  along  such  favorable  lines  as  those  afforded 


38  THE    MEDDLE   ILLINOIS   VALLEY.  [buj  l.  no.  15 

by  the  Illinois  and  Kickapoo  valleys,  is  singular.  Since  there  was  obvi- 
ously abundant  material  to  be  washed  forward  from  the  ice,  the  appar- 
ent absence  of  outwash  in  such  valleys  can  be  explained  only  by  assum- 
ing that  the  issuing  streams  were  of  little  volume,  and  that  their  chan- 
nels were  of  low  slope.  It  is  difficult  to  see  how  these  streams  could 
contain  little  water,  unless  fed  by  a  small  amount  of  melting  ice.  If 
this  view  be  entertained,  it  must  also  be  assumed  that  the  marginal  ice, 
whose  wastage  balanced  ice  advance,  was  in  the  main  disposed  of  in 
some  other  way  than  by  melting;  in  other  words,  by  evaporation.  This 
would  in  turn  seem  to  demand  an  arid  or  semi-arid  climate  in  central 
Illinois  at  the  time. 

The  Bloomington  ice  sheet. — The  Bloomington  moraine  (Fig.  20,  at 
"B")  is  named  from  the  city  of  that  name,  centrally  located  upon  it. 
The  edge  of  the  ice  remained  stationary  along  this  line  for  a  period 
sufficiently  long  to  permit  the  submarginal  accumulation  of  drift  to 
become  notably  thicker  than  that  farther  back.  The  ice  edge  did  not 
merely  halt  in  this  position  in  its  retreat  from  the  Shelbyville  moraine. 
Having  withdrawn  an  unknown  distance,  it  again  advanced  to  this  line. 
This  is  indicated  by  the  fact  that  shallow  valleys,  cut  in  the  Shelbyville 
drift,  received  the  outwash  from  the  Bloomington  ice  front.  Further- 
more, the  older  moraine  disappears  beneath  the  Bloomington  moraine 
in  the  northeastern  part  of  Peoria  county  near  Lawn  Eidge.  North  of 
this  point,  and  west  of  our  area,  the  younger  moraine  has  been  found 
to  be  in  contact  with  pre-Wisconsin  drift  (footnote,  p.  36).  For  the 
interval  between  the  Shelbyville  retreat  and  the  Bloomington  advance 
no  name  has  been  given.  The  inner  Bloomington  moraine,  which 
extends  northward  from  the  vicinity  of  the  great  bend  of  the  Illinois 
(Fig.  20,  at  "C")  may  be  a  recessional  moraine,  merely  registering  a 
stand  of  the  retreating  ice. 

The  description  of  the  Shelbyville  moraine  and  drift  (p.  36)  is  in 
the  main  applicable,  within  the  area  here  considered,  to  the  Blooming- 
ton moraine.  Between  Peoria  and  Lawn  Ridge  (Peoria  and  Dunlap 
topographic  sheets)  the  moraine  is  prominent,  reaching  in  places  an 
elevation  of  820  to  830  feet  above  sea  level,  nearly  100  feet  above  the 
narrow  Shelbyville  drift  plain  to  the  west.  The  crest  of  the  Blooming- 
ton moraine  here  acts  as  the  divide  between  the  upper  waters  of  Kickapoo 
creek  and  the  small  valleys  leading  eastward  to  the  Illinois  river.  As 
rioted  on  page  14,  the  proximity  of  the  moraine  to  the  Illinois  valley 
determined  the  shortness  of  the  valleys  heading  on  its  eastern  slope. 
These  valleys  gradually  lengthen  northward  as  the  distance  increases 
between  the  moraine  and  the  main  valley.  In  the  vicinity  of  the  eastern 
bluff  of  the  Illinois  valley  the  moraine  is  weakly  developed,  merging 
gradually  into  the  inner  plain. 

The  surface  of  this  moraine  nowhere  displays  pronounced  irregulari- 
ties, apart  from  those  developed  on  its  slopes  by  stream  erosion.  North 
of  Peoria  only  occasional  depressions  two  to  five  feet  in  depth  were  noted, 
associated  with  inconspicuous  swells.  East  of  the  river  there  is  even 
less  departure  from  planeness.     The  hummocky  topography  reported  to 


barrows.]  THE  GLACIAL  PERIOD.  39 

characterize  the  inner  Bloomington  moraine  to  the  north  of  the  area  of 
the  report,  becomes  subdued  as  the  Illinois  river  is  approached,  in  the 
vicinity  of  which  the  moraine  appears  to  lade  mil  entirely.  Low  mounds 
and  shallow  basins  on  the  uplands  easi  of  Hennepin  are  in  Line  with  this 
moraine,  which  reappears  on  Leverett's  map  (Fig.  20)  in  eastern  Wood- 
ford county. 

The  s  irface  of  the  till,  where  exposed,  is  commonly  weathered  to  a 
depth  of  5  to  8  and  sometimes  10  to  15  feet.  Beneath  this  yellow- 
brown  zone,  the  body  of  the  drift,  like  the  Shelby ville  drift,  consists  of 
rather  soft  blue  stony  clay,  with  occasional  beds  of  sand  and  gravel.  The 
s^rftnej5Sj>f  the  Wisconsin  drift  of  the  area  is  in  contrast  with  the  harcT- 
ness  of  the  underlying  lllinoian  drift.  This  may  be  due  to  the  par- 
tial cementation  of  the  older  drift,  or  to  its  having  been  deposited 
beneath  thicker  ice,  whose  greater  weight  more  effectually  compressed  it. 

Valley  trains. — Valley  trains  were  briefly  referred  to  on  page  32, 
in  connection  with  the  lllinoian  glaciation  of  the  region.  Their  devel- 
opment is  worthy  of  more  detailed  consideration  at  this  point,  since 
remnants  of  valley  trains  of  Wisconsin  age,  now  terraces>  are  among 
the   most  conspicuous  features  of  the  middle  Illinois  valley    (Fig.   3). 

When  streams  flow  away  from  glaciers  in  valleys  of  moderate  slope, 
they  are  commonly  overloaded  with  debris  derived  from  the  ice,  which 
they  therefore  deposit  along  their  channels,  building  river  plains  of 
sand  and  gravel.     Such  aggradational  plains  are  valley  trains  (Fig.  23). 


Fig.  23 .    Diagram  of  a  valley  train . 

The  stream  deposits  more  and  coarser  material  near  the  ice,  and  less 
and  finer  sediment  farther  from  it.  The  down-stream  slope  of  the 
valley,  train  is  therefore  steepest  near  the  ice,  and  increasingly  gentle 
away  from  it  (Fig.  23).  Small  streams  greatly  overloaded  with  very 
coarse  material  build  valley  trains  of  high  average  gradient.  Larger 
streams  less  burdened  with  smaller  material  build  trains  of  gentler 
average  slope.  Minor  irregularities  in  the  slope  of  the  valley  train  and 
in  the  distribution  of  its  material  may  result  from  rapid  wash  from 
recently  exposed  drift  covered  tributary  slopes  beyond  the  ice  front. 
This  may  indeed  be  a  not  unimportant  factor  in  the  overloading  of  the 
river,  and  the  1)  aiding  of  its  train.  The  longer  the  ice  edge  from  which 
the  aggrading  stream  issues  remains  stationary,  the  greater  the  valley 
filling.  Heavy  deposits  accordingly  point  to  protracted  stands  of  the 
edge  of  the  ice. 

The  Illinois  river,  as  it  issued  from  the  ice  sheet  which  at  the  Bloom- 
ington stage  of  glaciation  lay  across  its  valley,  probably  presented  an 
appearance  not  unlike  the  river  shown  in  Figure  24,  which  is  rapidly 
aggrading  its  channel.  The  waters  of  this  stream  flow  in  numerous 
channels  which  frequently  meet  and  divide.     Deposition  along  the  floor 


40 


THE    MIDDLE    ILLINOIS   VALLEY. 


[BULL.  NO.  15 


of  a  given  channel  reduces  its  capacity.  Presently  the  channel  is  un- 
able to  hold  all  of  its  water,  and  a  portion  breaks  over  the  side  and  fol- 
lows a  new  line.  The  new  channel  becoming  choked,  gives  off  branches, 
which  in  turn  divide.  The  overflowing  waters,  following  the  lowest  ac- 
cessible lines  of  descent,  may  reunite  only  to  separate  once  more  a  little 
farther  down  valley.  By  this  process  the  river  is  broken  up  into  many 
minor  streams  which  are  continually  shifting.  Such  rivers  are  braided 
rivers.  The  material  deposited  along  different  channels  at  any  given 
time  is  likely  to  be  of  unequal  coarseness,  while  that  deposited  at  a  given 
place  at  different  times  may  vary  within  equal  limits.  This  helps  to  ex- 
plain the  structure  of  ancient  valley  trains,  and  of  many  other  stream 


Fig.  24.    Map  of  a  braided  river.    (Drawn  from  the  Stromsburg  topographic  sheet.) 

deposits  as  well.  The  structure  of  valley  trains  is  illustrated  by  Plate  9, 
and  may  be  studied  at  the  various  terrace  sand  and  gravel  pits  scattered 
throughout  the  region.  The  lower  Mackinaw  river,  south  of  Pekin,  is 
a  braided  stream. 

Development  of  terraces  from  valley  trains. — Following  the  with-, 
(drawal  of  a  glacier  from  its  valley,  a  stream  may  be  relieved  of  the 
excess  of  load  which  led  to  the  building  of  its  valley  train.  Wash  from 
-the  tributary  slopes  is  likely  to  presently  decrease  also,  as  vegetation 
-secures  a  hold  upon  them,  and  fastens  the  surface  material.  If  the 
>stream  finds  itself  greatly  underloaded,  it  lowers  its  channel  rapidly, 
(developing  a  new  valley  in  the  aggraded  floor  of  the  old  one,  whose 
.remnants   constitute   elevated  terraces    (Fig.   25).      Such   a  degrading 


STATE   GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY. 


Bull.  Xo.  15,  Plate  9. 


Exposure  of  material  in  a  valley  train,  showing  structure  of  beds. 


BARROWS.] 


THE   GLACIAL    PERIOD. 


41 


river  becomes  less  swift  as  the  slope  of  its  channel  becomes  more  gentle ; 
finally  its  relatively  sluggish  current  is  turned  against  its  banks,  and 
side  cutting  increases  as  vertical  wear  diminishes.  The  terrace  is  nar- 
rowed where  undercut  by  the  river,  and  may  be  cut  into  disconnected 
sections  (Fig.  26).     Finally  the  valley  train  may  be  wholly  removed. 

If  as  the  ice  withdraws,  the  load  of  the  river  is  gradually  and  slowly 
r  educed,  so  that  it  remains  nearly  loaded  for  a  period,  it  may  shift  from 
f.de  to  side  of  its  valley,  while  it  slowly  degrades  its  channel,  and  thus 
develop  a  series  of  terraces.  This  is  illustrated  in  Figure  27,  where  a 
ptream  is  supposed  to  have  filled  its  valley  with  stratified  drift  to  the 
'!evel  A-B,  and  to  occupy  a  position  near  the  left  edge  of  its  flood-plain. 


Fig.  25.    Diagram  showing  terraces  developed  by  a  river  sinking  its  channel  into  a  valley  train. 


Fig.  26.    Diagram  showing  how  a  river  may  destroy  terraces  by  side  cutting. 

If  the  stream  now  shifts  toward  the  opposite  side  of  the  valley,  mean- 
while degrading,  it  will  presently  occupy  the  position  C.  Should  move- 
ment to  the  right  stop  there,  because  of  contact  with  a  projection  of  the 
old  valley  wall,  or  for  some  other  reason,  and  the  river  return  to  the 
left  side  of  the  valley,  a  remnant  of  the  old  flood-plain,  C-D-B,  would 
remain  as  a  terrace.  This  terrace  might  extend  a  considerable  distance 
along  the  valley,  or  only  a  short  distance,  and  its  width  might  vary 
notably.  In  similar  manner  should  the  river  fail  to  reach  the  left  side 
of  its  valley  on  the  return  swing,  a  terrace  would  result,  as  at  E — A. 
Many  terraces  at  successively  lower  levels  might  result  from  a  continu- 
ation of  this  process.    It  is  evident  that  such  terraces  upon  opposite  sides 


42 


THE    MIDDLE    ILLINOIS    VALLEY. 


[BULL.  NO.  15. 


of  the  valley  will  not  correspond  in  elevation,  and  that  they  may  be  de- 
stroyed wholly  or  in  part  by  the  widening  of  the  flood-plain  at  a  lower 
level.  The  top  of  the  terrace  C-D-B  is  an  aggradational  flat ;  the  sur- 
faces of  the  younger  terraces  at  lower  levels  are  degradational  flats. 


D 

B^^d] 

i  N^-^^-ILL -  ---  -r  —<:J 

'    1    '    r <4^V rX^ j>: /v>' :; : %  ^T^^^T^tt^^^H 

^^*^LL:''V  •' '  ••••:  •',-''•"'':■'  -;";  '■^*^~ 

iii      r     i     i     i      i      i     i      i 

i     i     i      i      i     i     i     i      i     i      i      i 

iii ' 

Fig.  27.    Diagram  illustrating  development  of  terraces  by  a  slowly  degrading  river  which  shifts  from 

side  to  side  of  its  valley. 

A  somewhat  different  sequence  of  events  was  involved  in  the  pro- 
duction of  the  terraces  shown  in  Figure  28.  The  valley  was  filled  with 
stratified  drift  to  the  level  A — B.  Subsequently  the  river  cut  a  new 
valley  in  the  drift  filling,  leaving  terraces  at  A  and  B.  Later  the  stream 
was  forced  to  again  aggrade,  possibly  by  a  return  of  the  ice  to  its  upper 
course,  and  filled  the  new  valley  to  the  level  C — D.    Still  later  the  stream 


Fig.  28.    Diagram  showing  two  sets  of  terraces  developed  from  aggradational  flats. 

again  degraded  its  channel,  leaving  terraces  at  C  and  D.  The  case  here 
suggested  would  have  been  complicated  had  the  river  at  either  or  both 
periods  of  erosion,  degraded  slowly  while  swinging  from  side  to  side  of 
its  valley,  instead  of  entrenching  actively. 


Fig.  29.    Diagram  to  illustrate  relations  of  terraces  of  unequal  height  to  one  another. 


barrows]  THE   GLACIAL   PERIOD.  43 

The  terrace  A  in  Figure  29  is  clearly  older  than  the  lower  terrace 
B.  The  ice  edge  may  have  lain  across  the  valley  at  the  upper  end  of 
A  long  enough  for  the  issuing  waters  to  rill  the  valley  to  the  level  of  A. 
If  the  ice  then  withdrew  from  that  position,  and  halted  farther  up 
valley,  the  extra-glacial  waters  may  have  filled  the  valley  to  the  level 
I>.  Or.  aggrading  its  valley  to  a  level  higher  than  B  at  the  second  stand 
of  the  ice.  the  river  may  subsequently  have  removed  the  deposits  to  that 
level.  If  at  the  first  stand  of  the  ice,  its  edge  lay  across  the  valley  above 
the  present  head  of  the  terrace  A,  that  terrace  of  course  extended  to  the 
ice  front.  It  rose  up  valley  and  must  therefore  have  been  well  above  B, 
at  C — D.  The  surface  B  may  have  been  formed,  in  this  case,  by  degrada- 
tion from  the  surface  C — D,  or,  wearing  its  channel  below7  B,  the  stream 
may  subsequently  have  aggraded  to  that  level. 

The  terraces  along  the  Illinois,  described  below,  afford  illustrations 
of  the  principles  suggested  above. 

Out  wash  from  the  ice  edge  at  Peoria. — The  greatest  filling  of  the 
Illinois  valley,  judging  by  existing  terraces,  occurred  at  Peoria.  A  part 
of  the  upper  section  of  the  city  stands  upon  a  gravel  terrace  which  is 
170  to  175  feet  above  the  river.  The  constitution  and  structure  of  this 
terrace  is  shown  in  nearly  a  score  of  gravel  pits,  and  in  numerous  other 
exposures.  It  appears  to  have  been  formed  at  the  Bloomington  stage  of 
glaeiation.  This  is  suggested  by  the  fact  that  it  coincides  in  elevation 
with  the  lower  end  of  a  valley  train  of  similar  composition  along  Farm 
creek  on  the  east  side  of  the  river,  which  is  known  to  head  in  the 
Bloomington  moraine.  A.  remnant  of  the  Farm  creek  valley  train  may 
be  conveniently  seen  in  a  pit  in  East  Peoria,  on  Pekin  avenue,  where  20- 
25  feet  of  cross-bedded  sand  and  gravel  are  exposed.  Both  terraces 
nearly  fill  shallow  valleys  that  were  cut  in  the  Shelbyville  till  before  the 
Bloomington  advance  of  the  ice.  ""* 

The  stratified  drift  of  the  upper  terrace  at  Peoria  is  covered,  at  least 
in  places,  by  a  few  feet  of  till.  This  points  to  a.  slight  temporary  ad- 
vance of  the  ice  front  beyond  its  main  position  in  the  northern  part  of 
the  city,  just  prior  to  its  final  withdrawal.  The  ice  appears  to  have 
pushed  out  over  a  part  of  the  terrace  before  this,  judging  from  an  ex- 
posure above  the  Chicago  and  Northwestern  Railroad  tracks  south  of. 
the  mouth  of  Dry  Pun,  where  a  bed  of  till  containing  large  bowlders  oc- 
curs within  the  stratified  drift.  This  illustrates  a  statement  on  pages 
36-37,  to  the  effect  that  an  essentially  stationary  ice  edge  often  shifts 
within  narrow  limits. 

The  surface  of  the  terrace  slopes  gently  toward  the  west.  Apparently 
the  aggrading  stream  was  withdrawal  from  a  position  along  that  edge 
of  its  flood-plain  before  its  channel  was  filled.  This  abandoned  channel 
appears  to  have  subsequently  guided  the  run-off  from  the  uplands  to  the 
west,  determining  the  peculiar  course  of  Dry  Run  in  the  northern  part 
of  the  city.  Flowing  south  for  about  four  miles,  it  turns  sharply  ten 
the  west  on  the  inner  edge  of  the  terrace  and  joins  the  Ivickapoo,  instead 
of  continuing  south  to  the  Illinois.  Such  abandoned  terrace  channels 
appear  frequently  to  control  the  courses  of  minor  streams.     Crow  creek, 


44  THE   MIDDLE   ILLINOIS   VALLEY.  [bull.  no.  15 

west  of  Henry,  and  the  creeks  on  the  inner  edge  of  the  Hennepin  ter- 
races, are  examples.  Myers  Lake,  on  the  inner  edge  of  a  terrace  east 
of  Pekin,  that  is  nearly  100  feet  above  the  present  river,  represents  an 
abandoned  section  of  the  terracing  stream.  A  similar  lake  (Goose  Lake) 
formerly  existed  along  the  lower  inner  edge  of  the  middle  terrace  at 
Peoria;  elderly  people  report  skating  upon  it  in  their  youth. 

The  upper  Peoria  terrace  is  259 ..feet  above  the  rock  floor  of  the  pre- 
glacial  Illinois  river,  and  as  noted  above,  about  175  feet  above  the  present 
river.  This  records  valley  filling  to  a  depth  of  259  feet  before  the  re- 
treat of  the  Bloomington  ice,  and  excavation  since  to  a  depth  of  175 
feet. 

The  highest  terrace  at  Pekin  has  a  general  elevation  of  520-530  feet 
above  the  sea.  Gravel  beds  occur  at  about  520  feet,  the  material  at 
higher  levels  being  sand.  This  has  been  blown  by  the  wind  into  sand 
hills  which  reach  an  elevation  in  places  of  550  or  more  feet.  The  520- 
530  foot  terrace  appears  not  to  represent  the  full  height  of  valley  filling 
here  at  the  time  the  upper  terrace  at  Peoria  was  formed.  (1)  It  would 
involve  a  decline  of  surface  of  seventy  to  eighty  feet  in  ten  miles,  and 
of  only  twenty  to  thirty  feet  in  the  next  fifty  miles,  where  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Sangamon  river  Wisconsin  gravels  are  reported  to  have  an  eleva- 
tion of  500  feet.  This  seems  a  rather  improbable  gradational  slope, 
though  not  an  impossible  one.  (2)  A  valley  train  of  Mackinaw  river 
which  heads  in  the  Bloomington  moraine  has  an  elevation  of  550  feet 
where  that  valley  joins  the  Illinois  valley  some  miles  below  Pekin.  The 
reduction  of  the  upper  Pekin  terrace  from  its  supposed  higher  level  oc- 
curred subsequent  to  the  withdrawal  of  the  ice  edge  from  Peoria,  and  it 
may  have  carried  the  valley  floor  below  the  present  upper  terrace  level. 
In  that  event  it  was  probably  built  up  to  the  present  level  when  the  ice 
edge  stood  near  Chillicothe,  as  noted  below.  In  the  process  of  lowering 
its  valley  floor  from  the  level  of  highest  filling,  the  river  probably  under- 
cut and  steepened  the  bluffs  east  of  Pekin;  slope  wash  has  since  reduced 
them  slightly,  spreading  clayey  material  over  the  inner  edge  of  the 
sandy  terrace  plain. 

Filling  of  tributanj  valleys. — The  effect  of  deposition  by  the  Illinois 
river  upon  some  of  its  tributaries  occupying  valleys  in  the  Illinoian 
drift,  is  worthy  of  note.  Along  Lamarsh  creek,  opposite  Pekin,  there  are 
terrace  remnants  at  510-520  feet,  which  are  being  undercut  in  places 
by  the  stream.  Here  it  may  be  seen  that  the  terrace  material  is  lamin- 
ated clay.  The  very  thin  horizontal  layers  (lamina?)  are  variable  in 
color,  oftenest  chocolate  or  dark  purple.  Occasionally  stones  of  some 
little  size  are  embedded  in  the  clay.  The  structure  and  composition  of 
the  material  indicate  that  it  was  deposited  in  the  quiet  waters  of  a  lake 
or  pond,  rather  than  in  running  water.  The  material  with  which  the 
Illinois  river  rapidly  filled  its  valley  near  Pekin  acted  as  a  dam  across 
the  mouth  of  Lamarsh  creek,  whose  lower  waters  became  essentially 
stationary.  The  stagnant  waters  of  the  ponded  stream  were  able  to 
transport  fine  silt  only.  In  the  winter  season,  bowlders  were  some- 
times frozen  into  the  ice  that  formed  in  the  shallow  waters  near  the 


BARROWS.]  THE   GLACIAL    PERIOD.  45 

head  of  the  stream,  or  fell  upon  the  ice  from  the  valley  sides.  Later, 
such  bowlders  were  floated  down  stream  by  ice  blocks,  and  dropped  on 
the  silty  bottom. 

Since  the  laminated  clays  noted  above  occur  at  the  level  of  the 
present  stream,  it  is  evident  that  a  valley  developed  after  the  withdrawal 
of  the  Illinoian  ice  from  the  locality,  and  before  the  advance  of  the 
Bloomington  ice  to  Peoria,  whose  bottom  was  at  least  as  low  as  that  of 
the  present  valley.  And  because  the  highest  existing  terrace  levels  are 
eighty  to  ninety  feet  below  the  adjacent  uplands,  the  erosion  accom- 
plished between  the  Illinoian  and  Bloomington  stages  of  the  Glacial 
period  appears  to  have  been  considerably  greater  than  that  accomplished 
between  the  retreat  of  the  Bloomington  ice  and  the  present.  It  should 
be  noted  in  this  connection,  however,  that  since  the  520-530  foot  level 
east  of  Pekin  seems  not  to  represent  the  extent  of  valley  filling  there, 
the  510-520  foot  level  along  Lamarsh  creek  probably  does  not  indicate 
the  extent  of  filling  in  the  tributary  valley. 

Outwash  from  the  ice  edge  near  Chillicothe. — The  constitution  of  the 
valley  drift  near  Chillicothe  appears  clearly  to  indicate  a  stand  of  the 
ice  edge  at  that  point.  In  a  railroad  terrace  pit  about  a  mile  north 
of  the  town  some  25  feet  of  rudely  bedded  sands  and  gravels  are  exposed. 
These  beds  are  exceptional  because  of  the  many  large  bowlders  which 
they  contain;  hundreds  of  bowlders  two  to  five  feet  in  diameter  are 
scattered  over  the  floor  of  the  pit,  while  a  few  are  eight  feet  or  more 
in  diameter.  So  numerous  are  these  bowlders  that  the  Atchison,  To- 
peka,  and  Santa  Fe  Eailroad  Company  abandoned  the  pit,  opening  a 
new  one  something  over  a  mile  to  the  southwest,  where  fewer  of  them 
have  been  encountered.  No  material  approaching  in  coarseness  that  at 
Chillicothe  is  found  up  the  valley  until  the  great  bend  is  reached.  .  This 
seems  to  indicate  conclusively  the  presence  of  the  ice  front  when  the 
Chillicothe  beds  in  question  were  deposited.  Many  of  the  bowlders  ap- 
pear too  large  to  be  handled  by  the  river,  and  it  has  been  suggested  that 
they  were  dropped  directly  from  the  overhanging  ice.  Occasional  large 
bowlders  are  found  down  the  valley  nearly  to  Mossville  on  the  west 
side  of  the  river,  and  beyond  Spring  Bay  on  the  east  side.  These  may 
have  been  floated  out  from  the  front  of  the  glacier  by  blocks  of  ice,  and 
subsequently  lowered  to  their  present  position  near  the  river  bank  by  the 
removal  of  the  fine  material  with  which  they  were  associated. 

The  valley  was  filled  in  the  vicinity  of  Chillicothe  at  least  to  the  pres- 
ent level  of  the  highest  terrace,  550  feet.  Elevations  on  the  terrace 
above  this  height  are  thought  to  be  due  entirely  to  wind  work.  A  well 
defined  550-foot  flat,  probably  to  be  correlated  with  this,  occurs  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  river,  southeast  of  Spring  Bay. 

Possible  outwash  from  the  ice  edge  near  Henry. — It  is  possible  that 
the  edge  of  the  ice  was  stationary  for  a  time  across  the  valley  a  short 
distance  north  of  Henry.  Terrace  drift  in  the  form  of  cross-bedded 
sand  and  gravel  occurs  at  Putnam  at  an  elevation  of  about  550  feet; 
the  highest  terrace  gravels  noted  north  of  this  point  reach  but  535  feet 


46  THE   MIDDLE    ILLINOIS   VALLEY.  [bull.  no.  15 

east  of  De  Pue  and  525  feet  northeast  of  Hennepin.  If^_after  the  devel- 
opment of  a  550-foot  aggradational  plain  in  the  vicinity  of  Henry,  the 
ice  withdrew  and  halted  farther  up  the  valley  only  long  enough  for  its 
issuing  waters  to  build  a  plain  to  the  level  of  a25-535  feet,  the_^resent 
relations  would  be  brought  about.  As  indicated  in  the  discussKm~~oT~ 
Figure  29,  however,  the  observed  facts  may  be  explained  otherwise.  The 
upper  Henry  terrace  may  be  a  portion  of  a  plain  developed  beyond  the 
edge  of  the  ice,  when  the  latter  stood  above  De  Pue,  the  upper  portion  of 
the  plain  having  been  eroded  subsequently  to  the  level  of  535  feet.  Xo 
record  of  a  stationary  ice  front  at  Henry  is  preserved  by  morainic  ridges 
on  the  adjacent  uplands. 

The  upper  terrace  at  Lacon  is  probably  to  be  correlated  with  the 
upper  terrace  near  Henry.  Both  show  by  their  topography  that  they 
are  considerably  older  than  the  next  lower  terrace ;  their  surfaces,  orig- 
inally essentially  flat,  are  now  quite  undulatory,  while  the  490-500  foot 
terrace  is  practically  unmodified. 

Outwash  from  the  ire  edge  east  of  De  Pue. — Evidence  of  outwash 
from  a  stationary  ice  edge  near  the  eastern  margin  of  the  Hennepin 
quadrangle  is  much  clearer  than  at  Henry.  (1)  \_n_we11  definpd  tpmcos 
appear  on  the  topographic  maps  to  the  eastward  which  reach  within  less 
than  (i()  or  ?()  feet  of  the  530-540  foot  terrace  near  De  Pue.  (2)  Large 
Ix.wleTers  comparable  to  those  at  Chillicothe",  occur  in  the  valley  drift.  It 
is  true  that  the  majority  that  are  exposed  are  at  low  levels  near  the  river, 
but  they  may  have  been  lowered  to  that  position  by  removal  of  underlying 
finer  material,  as  suggested  for  those  south  of  Chillicothe.  (3)  The 
terminal  moraine  shown  on  Figure  20,  at  "C"  registers  a  halt  of  the 
margin  of  the  ice  at  this  point. 

As  suggested  under  the  preceding  heading,  the  530-540  foot  terrace 
may  not  represent  the  full  extent  of  valley  filling  at  this  point. 

Outwash  from  points  beyond  area  of  report. — It  is  doubtful  whether 
the  middle  Illinois  valley  was  aggraded  by  outwash  from  the  ice  when 
the  several  moraines  which  cross  the  upper  Illinois  (Fig.  20)  were 
deposited. 
a  No  teT-pnee  nhnvp  4-flO  In  470  fppf  is  shown  on  the  topographic  map 
'  below  the  moraine  at  Utica.  The  460-470  foot  terrace  appears  to  extend 
some  distance  above  the  moraine  and  therefore  to  have  been  formed  at 
a  later  stage.  Terrace  remnants  at  460  to  470  feet  occur  within  the 
area  of  the  bulletin  from  Hennepin  to  Pekin.  Their  surfaces  seem  to 
be  degradational  flats,  as  noted  below. 

Leverett  has  found  evidence  of  a  lake-like  expanse  of  waters  having 
existed  between  the  moraine  at  Utica  (Fig.  20,  at  "D")  and  the  ice 
front  at  Marseilles,  and  later  between  the  Marseilles  moraine  (Fig.  20, 
at  "E")  and  the  ice  edge  beneath  which  the  Minooka  Ridge  (Fig.  20, 
at  "F")  and  the  Valparaiso  moraine  (Fig.  20,  at  "G-")  accumulated. 
The  debris  from  the  ice  gathered  in  these  basins,  whose  overflow  down 
the  Illinois  valley  was  doubtless  nearly  free  from  detritus.  Erosion. 
rather  than  deposition,  would  therefore  appear  to  have  been  in  progress 
at  these  stages  in  the  middle  and  lower  Illinois  valley.  This  erosion 
is  referred  to  below. 


barrows. J  THE   GLACIAL    PERIOD.  47 

Developm-ent  of  the  lower  terraces. — The  surfaces  of  the  lower  terraces 
shown  upon  the  topographic  maps  of  the  area  are  probably  degradationa! 
flats  thai  were  developed  by  the  river  in  accordance  with  the  principles 
suggested  in  connection  with  Figure  27.    The  development  of  these  levels 

in  the  southern  pari  of  the  area  may  have  begun  while  the  river  was 
depositing  nearer  the  ice  which  still  covered  the  northern  part.  Their 
iopment  throughout  the  area  proceeded  steadily  during  the  pres- 
ence of  the  ice  in  the  upper  Illinois  valley,  as  noted  under  the  preceding 
heading.  The  lowest  terrace  remnants,  460-470  feet,  occur  as  already 
indicated  at  intervals  from  Pekin  to  Hennepin  and  beyond.  These  are 
though!  (p.  48)  to  represent  the  level  of  the  flood-plain  at  tne  time  tne 
Illinois  vallev  became  the  outlet  of  Lake  f!'hi^a.gfT 

The  Chicago  Outlet. — The  withdrawal  of  the  ice  to  the  northeast  of 
the  site  of  Chicago  uncovered  the  lower  end  of  the  basin  now  occupied 
by  Lake  Michigan.  Between  the  receding  ice  front  and  relatively  high 
ground  to  the  south  and  west,  in  part  that  of  the  Valparaiso  moraine, 
glacial  waters  gathered  to  form  Lake  Chicago  (Fig.  20).  The  area 
of  the  lake  increased  with  the  continued  recession  of  the  ice  sheet,  and 
at  one  time  greatly  exceeded  that  of  Lake  Michigan.  Lake  Chicago 
discharged  along  the  line  of  the  Illinois  valley  to  the  Mississippi  and 
the  Gulf1,  the  overflow  constituting  a  river  of  great  volume,  estimated 
to  have  had  a  depth  of  twenty-five  to  thirty  feet. 

This  powerful  stream  carried  on  more  vigorously  the  work  begun  by 
its  smaller  predecessor.  It  degraded  its  channel  rapidly  where  it  found 
weak  material,  and  more  slowly  where  resisted  by  strong  rocks.  Above 
Utica,  where  the  river  was  flowing  in  a  glacial  valley,  it  encountered 
bed  rocks  of  varying  strength.  On  these  it  developed  a  relatively  high, 
but  irregular  profile,  steeper  where  the  rocks  were  resistant  and  gentler 
where  they  were  weaker.  In  the  area  considered  in  the  report,  only  the 
drift  filling  of  the  preglacial  valley  was  found,  and  the  river  lowered  its 
channel.  Prof.  Cooley  estimates,  some  thirty  feet  below  the  present  valley 
bottom,  developing  a  very  gentle  gradient. 

Given  time  enough,  the  Outlet  river  would  have  worn  the  rocks  of  its 
upper  channel  to  a  uniform  and  gentle  grade,  continuing  that  of  the 
lower  valley.  When  this  task  was  only  well  begun,  the  retreating  ice 
sheet  uncovered  a  lower  outlet  for  the  lakes,  and  the  Chicago  outlet 
was  abandoned.  Had  the  Chicago  Outlet  river  completed  its  work,  the 
Great  Lakes,  save  Ontario,  would  now  have  the  Illinois'  river,  rather 
than  the  St.  Lawrence,  as  an  outlet.  In  that  case  the  middle  Illinois 
valley  would  lack  the  characteristic  features  that  have  developed  because 
of  the  inability  of  the  present  stream  to  carry  on  the  work  of  it- 
predecessor. 

The  condition  of  the  middle  Illinois  valley  when  it  first  received  the 
discharge  of  Lake  Chicago  is  uncertain.     It  has  been  suggested  that  the 


1  A  writer  slated  in  1819  that  Lake  Michigan  once  discharged  to  the  southwest:  "Appearances 
justify  a  belief;  that  Lake  Michigan,  at  an  early  period,  found  an  outlet  into  the  Illinois,  through  winch 
the  Great  Lake  waters  made  their  passage;  there  being  evident  water-worn  traces  on  the  banks  of  the 
Illinois,  which  indicate  that  it  formerly  was  the  channel  of  far  more  abundant  waters;  and  on  the  borders 
of  the  lakes,  that  the  surface  of  their  waters  was  once  several  feet  higher."  (E.  Dana:  Geographical 
Sketches  on  the  Western  Country,  p.  151.) 


48  THE   MIDDLE   ILLINOIS   VALLEY.  [bull.  no.  15 

bottom  of  the  valley  at  Hennepin  was  at  an  elevation  of  about  490  to 
500  feet.  This  view  is  opposed  by  the  existence  of  terraces  below  the 
level  indicated.  These  terraces  were  not  formed  by  the  present  Illinois 
river  which,  as  indicated  below  (p.  53),  has  built  up  the  floor  of  the 
Outlet  river  only  to  the  level  of  the  present  flood-plain,  and  the  Outlet 
river,  on  the  other  hand,  does  not  appear  to  have  been  a  stream  which 
degraded  leisurely  as  it  swung  from  side  to  side  of  its  valley,  thus 
developing  terraces.  Its  waters  seem  to  have  covered  the  entire  area  of 
the  present  bottoms,  and  it  probably  steadily  lowered  this  entirej^beit 
to  the  low  grade  noted  above  without  developing  any  intermediate  flat. 
It  seems  not  improbable  that  the  valley  bottom  had  been  eroded  to  the 
level  of  the  460-470  foot  terrace  already  described;  before  the  advent 
of  the  lake  waters.  In  this  event,  and  accepting  Cooley's  estimate  of  the 
amount  of  filling  that  has  occurred  since  the  lake  waters  were  with- 
drawn, the  Outlet  river  lowered  the  bottom  of  the  middle  valley  some 
55  to  60  feet.  The  vigorous  erosion  of  the  Outlet  river  is  reflected  in  its 
steep  banks.  These  have  suffered  least  modification  where  formed  by  the 
till  of  the  valley  wall,  and  such  sections  of  the  bluffs  are  in  general 
steeper  than  those  behind  the  terraces. 

Having  developed  a  very  gentle  slope,  the  lower  Outlet  river  must 
presently  have  come  to  meander,  pushing  back  the  sides  of  the  valley  and 
extending  its  flat.  This  would  have  invited  the  final  destruction  of  all 
the  terraces.  It  was  only  prevented  by  the  early  withdrawal  of  the 
lake  waters. 

The  terraces  remain  for  the  most  part  in  positions  somewhat  sheltered 
from  the  attacks  of  the  river.  The  Hennepin  terraces  have  a  protected 
position  on  the  inner  side  of  the  great  bend.  The  other  large  terraces, 
with  the  exception  of  those  near  Henry,  occupy  expansions  of  the  valley, 
immediately  down  stream  from  defending  projections  of  the  valley  walls. 

That  the  Outlet  river  was  of  great  volume  compared  with  its  tribu- 
taries is  indicated  by  the  fact  that  the  width  of  its  channel  increases  very 
slowly  down  stream. 

Wisconsin  loess. — The  Wisconsin  drift  of  the  area  under  consideration 
received  a  partial  covering  of  loess,  which,  in  its  typical  development,, 
closely  resembles  the  Iowan  loess  described  on  page  34.  It  has  been 
removed  from  many  erosion  slopes,  and  inland  gives  way  to  the  black 
earth  of  the  upland  prairies.  Plate  10  shows  a  typical  exposure  of  loess 
at  the  mouth  of  Hicks'  Hollow,  southwest  of  Chillicothe.  The  loess 
(or  loess-like  silt)  mantle  has  an  average  thickness  of  two  to  six  feet, 
though  in  numerous  places  it  reaches  ten  to  fourteen  feet.  The  bulk 
of  the  thicker  deposits  is  a  buff-colored  calcareous  silt,  often  containing 
many  lime  concretions  (Plate  8,  B)  and  shells  of  mollusks.  The 
weathered  surface  zone,  two  to  four  feet  in  depth,  is  brown  and  leached 
of  its  limey  constituents.  This  phase,  a  brown  clayey  earth,  is  that 
generally  seen  over  the  upland.  Thanks  to  its  presence,  the  surface  of 
the  Wisconsin  drift  is  generally  free  from  stones. 

The  origin  of  the  Wisconsin  loess  is  in  doubt.  The  fact  that  the 
surface  of  the  till  beneath  the  thicker  loess  is  unleached,  seems  to  indicate 
that  its  accumulation  began  rather  promptly  upon  the  disappearance  of 


STATE   GEOLOGICAL   SURVEY 


Bull.  Xo.  15,  Plate  10. 


Exposure  of  loess  at  mouth  of  Hicks'  Hollow,  southwest  of  Chillicothe. 


barrows.]  THE   GLACIAL    PERIOD.  49 

the  ice.  Westerly  winds  might  be  expected  to  bring  fine  material  in 
quantity  from  the  loess  covered  Illinoian  drift  plain.  The  Iowan  loe?s, 
however,  had  been  leached  to  a  depth  of  several  feet  before  the  advent 
of  the  Wisconsin  ice,  as  indicated  in  the  discussion  of  the  section  given 
on  page  2 1 .  Wind-blown  material  from  its  surface  should  therefore 
be  non-calcareous,  whereas  much  of  the  Wisconsin  loess  is  highly  cal- 
careous. This  demands  another  source  for  at  least  the  major  part  of 
the  Wisconsin  loess.  As  indicated  above,  the  drainage  from  the  Shelby- 
ville  ice  edge  is  known  to  have  been  generally  feeble,  and  such  may 
have  been  the  case  in  places  from  the  Bloomington  ice,  though  along 
the  Illinois  valley  the  gravel  deposits  imply  vigorous  outwash.  Silt 
washed  out  from  the  ice  by  sluggish  waters  might  subsequently  have 
been  carried  back  over  the  body  of  the  drift  by  the  prevailing  westerly 
winds.  The  surface  of  the  Wisconsin  till  sheet  itself  may  have  been  an 
important  source  of  loess,  before  it  was  covered  with  vegetation.  A 
possible  source  for  some  of  the  loess-like  silt  is  found  in  the  work  of 
earthworms.  These  animals  are  continually  bringing  large  quantities  of 
fine  material  to  the  surface.  This  is  only  a  minor  source,  for  otherwise 
similar  silt  should  appear  over  wide  areas  where  absent. 

The  loess  has  probably  been  subject  to  much  iedistribution,  as  shown 
by  its  occurrence  on  certain  lowTer  erosion  slopes  developed  in  the  Wis- 
consin drift. 


-4  G 


50  THE    MIDDLE    ILLINOIS   VALLEY.  [bull.  no.  15 


CHAPTER  IV. 


POST-GLACIAL  CHANGES. 

Introduction. 

Since  the  final  withdrawal  of  the  ice  sheet,  the  drift-covered  surface 
of  this  area  has  been  exposed  to  the  chemical  and  mechanical  action  of 
the  atmosphere,  to  the  work  of  running  water,  and  to  the  influence  of 
various  forms  of  life.  It  should  not  be  assumed  that  the  changes  dis- 
cussed in  this  chapter  as  post-glacial  all  took  place  after  the  final  reces- 
sion of  the  ice  sheet  from  the  United  States,  or  even  from  Illinois.  The 
changes  affected  in  any  given  place  by  air  and  water  began  as  soon  as 
that  place  was  abandoned  by  the  ice.  The  latest  stage  in  the  develop- 
ment of  the  region  has  accordingly  been  of  very  unequal  length  in  its 
different  parts.  It  has  probably  been  several  times  as  long  in  the  area 
of  the  Illinoian  drift  as  in  that  covered  by  the  Wisconsin  ice,  and  has 
been  much  longer  in  certain  parts  of  the  latter  area  than  in  others. 

The  changes  wrought  by  the  Chicago  Outlet  river  might  be  considered 
as  post-glacial.  Since  the  very  existence  of  the  Outlet  river  was  depend- 
ent upon  the  presence  of  the  ice  to  the  northeast,  however,  it  has  been 
discussed  in  the  chapter  on  the  Glacial  period.  The  work  of  the  minor 
streams  is  discussed  for  the  most  part  in  the  present  chapter,  though  it 
began  in  the  southern  part  of  the  area  while  the  ice  still  occupied  the 
northern  part  and  was  influenced  for  a  time  throughout  the  area  by 
that  of  the  Outlet  river. 

Conditions  Affecting  Erosion. 

The  freshly  exposed  drift  surface  furnished  conditions  of  erosion 
differing  in  important  ways  from  those  of  the  present. 

The  streams,  even  aside  from  the  glacially  swollen  Illinois,  were  doubt- 
less of  much  greater  volume  than  at  present.  The  vast  ice  sheet  to  the 
northeast  chilled  the  westerly  winds,  and  probably  compelled  them  to 
relinquish  much  moisture  which  otherwise  would  have  been  carried 
farther  east.  This  influence  of  the  ice  doubtless  extended  many  miles 
west  of  its  edge.  Slope  wash  and  stream  transportation  were  also 
greatly  favored  by  the  loose  character  of  much  of  the  surface  material, 
and  by  the  absence  of  protecting  vegetation.  Wind  transportation  was 
favored  by  the  lack  of  vegetation,  but  hindered  by  the  rainfall,  and 
during  the  long  winters  by  the  fact  that  the  frozen  ground  waters 
cemented  the  surface  material  into  a  compact  mass. 


BARROWS.] 


POST-GLACIAL   CHANGES. 


51 


Wind  Work. 

Wind  work  within  the  area  under  discussion  has  been  largely  trans- 
portation and  deposition.  Wind  borne  particles  colliding  while  in 
transit,  or  blown  with  force  against  the  surface  of  the  ground,  have 
doubtless  affected  some  wear,  and  have  been  worn  themselves.  On  the 
whole,  however,  wind  wear  (abrasion)  appears  to  have  been  relatively 
unimportant. 

Strong  winds  transport  great  quantities  of  fine  particles  the  size  of 
dust  or  Joess,  often  long  distances.  Frequently  raised  by  ascending  air 
currents  well  above  the  ground,  such  material  settles  independently  of 
surface  objects,  forming  a  layer  of  more  or  less  uniform  thickness.  This 
may  help  to  explain  the  distribution  of  the  loess,  referred  in  large  part 
to  the  wind  in  the  preceding  chapter. 

Sand  grains  are  too  heavy  to  be  lifted  much  above  the  ground  or.  to 
be  carried  far  by  ordinary  winds.  Sand,  and  sometimes  even  fine 
gravel,  is  rolled  by  the  wind  along  the  surface,  however,  or  carried  short 


Fig.  30.  Sketch  showing  how  wind-blown  sand  accumulates  about  an  impenetrable  obstacle.  The 
wind  which  deposited  the  sand  came  from  the  left.  Lodgement  against  the  box  is  prevented  on  both 
the  windward  and  leeward  sides  by  wind  eddies.    (Sketched  from  photo  by  Bastin.) 


distances  in  its  lowermost  strata.  In  these  positions  it  is  likely  to  lodge 
about  obstacles  in  its  path,  forming  mounds  or  ridges.  Such  elevations 
of  wind  accumulated  sand  are  dunes.  Dunes  are  extensively  devel- 
oped within  this  area,  as  indicated  in  Figure  3.  Figure  30  suggests 
the  manner  in  which  sand  begins  to  accumulate  about  an  impenetrable 
obstacle.  Once  started,  the  hillock  itself  acts  as  a  barrier  to  other  sand, 
and  so  occasions  its  own  growth.  Where  there  are  clumps  of  vegeta- 
tion, they  may  likewise  intercept  drifting  sand,  and  cause  the  formation 
of  dunes.  The  way  in  which  sand  gathers  in  and  about  vegetation  is 
frequently  illustrated  along  the  thick-set  osage  orange  hedges  of  the 
terraces;  the  major  deposit  is  on  the  leeward  side  of  the  hedge. 


52  THE    MIDDLE   ILLINOIS   VALLEY.  [bull.  no.  15 

The  dunes  range  in  height  from  a  few  feet  up  to  thirty  or  forty  or 
more  feet  above  their  immediate  surroundings.  Commonly  in  the  form 
of  irregularly  roundish  mounds,  they  are  sometimes  relatively  long  and 
narrow  ridges.  This  is  the  case  locally  north  of  Hennepin  and  south  of 
Spring  Bay,  where  the  ridges  extend  northwest  and  southeast,  or  at  right 
angles  to  the  prevailing  southwest  winds.  Figure  31  shows  a  typical 
dune  in  cross  section.  The  longer  and  gentler  side  faces  the  dominant 
wind,  and  serves  as  a  roadway  up  which  sand  is  carried  and  rolled  to  the 


Fig.  31.    Cross  section  of  a  sand  dune.    The  gentler  (a  b)  slope  is  the  windward  side  of  the  dune;  the 
steeper  (b  c)  slope,  the  leeward  side. 

crest,  where  it  falls  down  the  steep  slope.  The  windward  slope  tends  to 
adjust  its  steepness  to  the  strength  of  the  wind.  Weak  winds,  es- 
pecially if  handling  coarse  sand,  require  a  gentle  grade;  strong  winds, 
particularly  if  favored  by  fine  sand,  can  carry  their  load  up  a  steeper 
slope.  The  leeward  slope  is  limited  in  steepness  by  the  angle  at  which 
the  material  will  lie.  Since  the  direction  of  the  winds  frequently 
changes  in  the  region  here  considered,  the  dunes  are  generally  much  less 
regular  in  form  than  shown  in  Figure  31. 

If,  as  often  happens,  the  wind  is  able  to  move  more  than  it  is  carry- 
ing when  it  begins  the  ascent  of  a  bare  dune,  it  removes  sand  from  the 
dune  surface  and  rolls  or  carries  it  to  or  toward  the  crest.  By  the  con- 
tinued transfer  of  sand  from  the  windward  to  the  leeward  slope,  the  dune 
slowly  shifts  its  position.  It  is  evident  from  the  nature  of  this  migra- 
tion that  only  an  extremely  small  percentage  of  the  sand  is  in  motion 
at  any  given  time.  Plate  11,  A  shows  a  dune  that  is  slowly  advancing 
into  Meyers  lake,  near  Pekin. 

In  certain  of  the  dune  areas  of  the  region,  notably  near  Pekin  and 
Chillicothe,  basin-like  depressions  among  the  dunes  are  quite  as  dis- 
tinctive of  the  topography  as  are  the  elevations  (Plate  11,  B).  Such 
depressions  may  result  from  the  wind  scooping  out  the  sand,  or  from 
more  sand  being  deposited  around  than  on  a  given  place,  which  there- 
fore comes  to  stand  below  its  surroundings.  In  a  few  cases,  also,  dunes 
appear  to  have  invaded  shallow  valleys,  whose  unfilled  portions  remain 
as  depressions  without  outlet.  Locally  the  dune  topographies  of  the 
area  rather  closely  resemble  terminal  moraine  topography  (Fig.  22)  ; 
the  constitution  and  structure  of  the  hills  will  enable  the  student  to 
readily  distinguish  between  them. 

While  most  of  the  dunes  are  confined  to  the  terraces  from  which 
their  sand  was  derived,  a  few  have  migrated  to  the  eastern  bluff- slopes 
and  uplands,  where  they  appear  at  intervals  all  the  way  from  Pekin  to 
Hennepin  (Fig.  3).     They  are  confined  to  the  eastern  bluffs  because  the 


STATE    GEOLOGICAL   SURVEY. 


Bull.  No.  15,  Plate  11. 


A.    Sand  dune  advancing  into  Meyers  lake,  near  Pekin. 


B .    Depression  in  wind-blown  sand  near  Pekin,  containing  pond . 


barrows.]  POST-GLACIAL   CHANGES.  53 

prevailing  winds  are  from  the  west;  on  the  west  side  of  the  valley  the 
winds  blow  from  the  uplands  to  the  sandy  terraces,  while  on  the  east 
side  they  blow  from  the  source  of  the  sand  to  the  uplands.  The  dunes 
along  the  eastern  bluffs  are  best  developed  back  of  the  terraces.  This 
may  mean  that  the  bulk  of  the  upland  dune  sand  was  carried  there 
after  the  partial  removal  of  the  valley  drift;  in  that  event  it  would  ap- 
parently illustrate  the  importance  of  the  factors  that  at  first  inhibited 
the  work  of  the  wind  (p.  50). 

There  is  much  sand  along  the  bases  of  the  steep  bluffs  opposite  Henry 
and  Chillicothe,  some  of  which  appears  to  be  wind  lodged,  that  is  not 
aggregated  into  distinct  dunes.  ■  The  steepness  of  these  slopes  would, 
apart  from  the  existing  vegetation,  possibly  prevent  the  sand  reaching 
the  uplands.  Winds  can  carry  sand  to  any  height  up  gentle  slopes,  but 
are  unable  to  carry  it  up  very  steep  slopes.  The  dune  areas  of  the1 
region  are  in  general  under  cultivation. 

Work  of  Kunning  Water, 
post-glacial  aggradation  by  the  illinois  river. 

The  transporting  power  of  a  stream  is  dependent  upon  its  velocity, 
which  in  turn  is  controlled  by  its  gradient,  volume,  load,  and  the  shape 
of  its  channel.  The  influence  of  a  high  gradient  and  of  great  volume 
is  evident;  both  invite  rapid  flow.  The  load  which  a  stream  trans- 
ports reduces  its  velocity,  for  the  energy  expended  in  moving  the  detritus 
would  otherwise  be  available  for  flowing.  Lastly,  a  stream  is  retarded 
by  friction  with  its  bed  and  banks.  The  greater  the  cross  section  of 
the  channel,  and  the  more  irregular  and  crooked  the  bed,  the  greater 
the  amount  of  energy  expended  in  overcoming  friction. 

The  Chicago  Outlet  river,  because  of  its  great  volume  and  the  fact 
that  it  left  the  lake  essentially  free  from  sediment,  was  able  to  reduce 
its  lower  channel  to  an  extremely  gentle  slope  and  still  carry  awray  all 
the  material  brought  to  it  by  tributaries.  When  the  discharge  from 
the  lakes  was  withdrawn  from  the  Chicago  Outlet,  the  Illinois  river 
was  suddenly  reduced  to  a  small  fraction  of  its  former  volume.  This 
reduced  its  velocity  and  hence  its  carrying  power  to  such  an  extent  that 
in  the  section  of  low  slope  below  Utica  it  was  unable  to  transport  the 
material  delivered  by  its  tributaries.  This  detritus  was  accordingly 
dropped  along  its  valley  floor,  together  with  that  derived  from  its  upper- 
course,  where  a  steeper  gradient  enabled  the  river  to  continue,  though 
much  more  slowly,  the  erosion  of  its  predecessor.  The  amount  of  post- 
glacial filling  along  the  middle  Illinois  has  been  estimated  by  Cooley 
to  average  thirty  feet.  The  result  of  this  filling  is  the  present  flood- 
plain. 

By  aggradation  a  river  tends  to  develop  a  steeper  grade,  along  which 
it  may  wash  its  load.  If  the  post-glacial  Illinois  has  built  up  its  valley 
bottom  thirty  feet,  it  is  remarkable  that  it  still  has  an  average  fall  of 
only  a  trifle  over  four-fifths  of  an  inch  per  mile  between  Hennepin  and 
Pekin,  indeed  it  is  difficult  to  see  how  even  the  Outlet  river  could  have 


54  THE   MIDDLE   ILLINOIS   VALLEY.  Tbull.  no.  15 

developed  so  low  a  gradient.  The  steepening  of  a  river  slope,  so  far  as 
it  is  dne  to  deposition,  of  course  depends  upon  more  rapid  deposition 
in  its  upper  than  in  its  lower  part.  Possibly  the  failure  of  the  lower 
Illinois  to  appreciably  increase  its  grade  is  to  be  explained  in  part  by 
relatively  large  contributions  of  sediment  from  its  lower  tributaries. 
It  has  been  suggested  that  the  northern  part  of  the  Illinois  valley  may 
have  been  depressed.  The  great  weight  of  the  ice  sheet  has  been  thought 
to  be  a  possible  cause,  while  the  heavy  deposits  of  drift  may  have  pre- 
vented a  complete  return  to  the  former  attitude  after  the  disappearance 
of  the  ice.  Such  a  movement  was  suggested  by  the  fact  that  deep  borings 
apparently  showed  the  rock  floor  of  the  pre-glacial  Illinois  valley  to  be 
as  low  at  Princeton  and  Hennepin,  as  at  Peoria,  fifty  miles  down  stream. 
It  is  by  no  means  certain,  however,  that  these  borings  discovered  the 
lowest  point  in  the  old  valley.  It  has  been  further  suggested  that  the 
low  slope  of  the  lower  Illinois  may  not  be  due  wholly  to  erosion  by  the 
Outlet  river,  but  in  part  to  the  suspected  movement.  The  last  sugges- 
tion seems  hardly  applicable,  since  the  downward  movement,  occurring 
before  the  Outlet  river  came  into  existence,  could  affect  only  the  slope 
with  which  the  river  began  its  work,  not  that  which  it  subsequently  de- 
veloped. To  explain  in  this  way  the  present  low  grade  of  the  river, 
ver}^  recent  movement  must  be  assumed. 

The  history  of  the  Illinois  flood-plain,  already  referred  to,  is  in  con- 
trast with  that  of  normal  valley  flats.  As  an  eroding  river  approaches 
base-level,  its  diminishing  gradient  compels  it  to  flow  less  and  less 
swiftly.  Finally  the  sluggish  current  is  diverted  by  the  deposits  or 
currents  of  tributaries  and  by  various  obstacles  from  the  relatively 
direct  course  maintained  during  its  more  vigorous  youth.  Striking  its 
banks  at  various  points,  it  cuts  them  back.  The  points  of  attack  shifting 
from  time  to  time,  the  flat  is  widened  generally,  and  a  flood-plain  is  de- 
veloped upon  which  deposits  may  subsequently  be  made  by  the  stream  in 
periods  of  overflow.  Thus  flood-plain  flats  are  ordinarily  developed 
first  and  primarily  by  lateral  erosion,  and  secondly  and  subordinately 
by  deposition.  The  Illinois  flood-plain,  on  the  other  hand,  is  the  product 
of  deposition  upon  a  flat  not  formed  by  lateral  erosion.  Its  width  is 
essentially  that  of  the  Outlet  river,  which,  as  we  have  seen,  had  not  be- 
gun to  meander  when  its  career  was  cut  short.  To  be  sure,  aggradation 
By  the  present  stream  has  slightly  increased  the  width  of  the  valley 
bottom,  since  any  valley  whose  walls  are  not  vertical  is  wider  at  any 
level  than  at  any  lower  one.  The  present  river  may  also  have  undercut 
its  bluffs  locally  to  slight  extent. 

Normal  valley  flats  are  widest  in  their  lower  portion,  where  the  gentle 
gradient  that  invites  lateral  shifting  was  first  formed,  and  narrow  some- 
what regularly  up  stream.  The  irregular  width  of  its  valley  was  of 
course  inherited  by  the  present  Illinois  river.  The  constriction  at 
Peoria  is  probably  due  to  the  moraine  which  crosses  it  at  that  point. 
The  cause  of  the  relatively  narrow  sections  near  Lacon  is  not  apparent. 
They  may  be  due  to  the  influence  of  resistant  rocks,  though  this  is  not 
demonstrated.     In  the  western  bluffs,  bed  rocks  are  thinly  covered  with 


barrows.]  POST-GLACIAL   CHANGES.  55 

drift,  as  indicated  by  outcrops  and  by  numerous  coal  drifts.  There  is, 
however,  no  evidence  of  their  presence  in  the  opposite  eastern  bluffs. 
The  very  striking  narrowing  of  the  valley  in  the  vicinity  of  the  great 
bend  is  explained  by  the  lesser  age  of  the  narrow  section.  Below  the 
bend  the  river  is  within  the  great  Bock-Illinois  pre-glacial  valley;  above 
the  bend  it  follows  (Leverett)  the  course  of  a  small  pre-glacial  tributary 
which  headed  near  Utica.  Furthermore,  at  Marquette,  and  on  the  op- 
posite side  of  the  valley  near  Mud  Lake,  relatively  resistant  bed  rocks 
appear  in  the  bluffs  and  lower  ravine  slopes. 

The  structure  of  the  flood-plain  deposits,  and  the  incipient  levees  of 
the  river  were  described  in  the  first  chapter. 

FLOOD-PLAIN  LAKES. 

The  lakes  of  the  middle  Illinois  flood-plain  range  from  Lake  Sen- 
achwine  (Fig.  9),  over  four  miles  in  length,  to  small  ponds.  Like 
many  of  the  other  features  of  the  valley  they  appear  to  differ  somewhat 
from  the  ordinary  representatives  of  their  class.  Plate  12,  A  and  B 
may  illustrate  the  usual  manner  in  which  flood-plain  lakes  are  formed. 
Such  a  meandering  stream  tends  to  erode  along  the  outer  edge  of  its 
curves,  where  the  current  is  relatively  swift,  and  to  deposit  on  the  inner 
edge,  where  the  water  is  slack.  Finally  the  stream  cuts  through  the 
narrowing  neck  of  land  between  the  two  limbs  of  a  meander,  as  shown 
in  the  middle  distance  of  Plate  12,  B,  at  "A."  The  current  abandons  the 
old  round-about  course,  which  is  likely  to  be  isolated  by  the  shifting  of 
the  stream  to  another  position  upon  its  flood-plain,  or  by  deposition  at 
the  ends  of  the  abandoned  meander,  whose  standing  waters  check  the 
edge  of  the  current.  Such  lakes  are  usually  cresentic  in  form  and  are 
called  ox-bow  lakes.  In  the  summer  of  1907  an  ox-bow  lake  was  in  pro- 
cess of  formation  in  the  lower  course  of  Kickapoo  creek.  A  number 
of  them  may  be  seen  along  the  lower  Mackinaw,  where  the  formation  of 
others  appears  imminent.  The  lakes  of  the  Illinois  flood-plain  are 
clearly  former  sections  of  the  river,  but  they  have  not  the  curved 
outlines  of  typical  ox-bow  lakes.  Lake  Senacnwine,  shown  in  Figure 
9,  is  a  striking  illustration  of  this.  The  river  appears  to  have 
broken  from  its  partially  filled  channel  in  flood  time,  to  follow  a  slightly 
lower  line  through  the  adjacent  bottoms.  Since  there  are  many  lakes 
upon  the  flood-plain,  numerous  changes  in  the  position  of  the  river  are 
recorded.  The  fact  of  frequent  shifting  was  seen  in  Chapter  I  to  be  in- 
dicated also  by  the  structure  of  the  flood-plain. 

The  lakes  are  being  gradually  obliterated  as  indicated  on  page  6,  (1) 
by  the  encroachment  of  marsh  vegetation  upon  their  shallow  borders, 
(2)  by  wash  from  the  surrounding  land,  and  (3)  by  wind-blown  ma- 
terial. Many  of  them  probably  retain  but  a  small  fraction  of  their 
original  size  and  all  are  temporary  features.  Doubtless  many  former 
lakes  have  been  destroyed  and  the  existing  ones  will  be  replaced  by 
others  in  the  future  unless  the  river  is  artificially  confined  to  its  channel. 

The  lake-like  expansions  of  the  river  itself  were  explained  in 
Chapter  I. 


56  THE    MIDDLE    ILLINOIS   VALLEY.  [bull.  no.  15 

HISTORY  OF   THE  SMALL  VALLEYS. 

The  opportunities  along  the  middle  Illinois  for  the  study  of  valley 
development  are  unsurpassed.  Tributary  valleys  are  crowded  together 
on  both  sides  of  the  river.  Attention  is  now  directed  to  their  history. 
Many  of  the  processes  involved  in  their  formation  have  been  discussed 
in  other  connections  in  preceding  pages. 

The  beginning  of  the  valleys. — If  the  slopes  leading  to  the  Illinois 
valley  at  the  withdrawal  of  the  ice  sheet  had  been  of  uniform  steepness 
and  composition,  and  the  rain  that  fell  upon  them  had  been  everywhere 
equal,  the  run-off,  and  the  quantity  of  earth  washed  down  slope  by  the 
run-off,  would  have  been  equal  along  all  lines.  Doubtless  none  of  these 
conditions  existed.  The  slopes  were  more  or  less  irregular,  and  the 
run-off  therefore  uneven.  Where  more  water  descended,  its  velocity  was 
greater  and  it  eroded  faster  than  elsewhere,  forming  a  depression.  The 
sirface  materials  of  the  slopes  varied  from  point  to  point  in  size  and 
compactness.  Where  the  particles  were  small  and  not  compacted,  they 
were  removed  more  readily  than  at  other  places,  the  result  being  as 
before,  a  depression.  These  depressions  were  gullies.  Gullies  (minia- 
ture valleys)  then,  are  depressions  in  the  land  begun  by  the  erosion  of 
running  water  in  consequence  of  inequalities  in  slope  or  in  material. 

Plate  13,  A,  shows  a  typical  gully.  Water  that  in  the  future  runs 
down  slope  into  this  gully  will  wear  its  head  back  into  the  upland.  Eain 
wash  down  its  sides  will  widen  it.  Erosion  by  water  flowing  along  its 
bottom  will  deepen  it.  Gullies  grown  sufficiently  long  and  wide  and  deep 
are  called  ravines,  which  in  turn  may  grow  into  valleys. 

The  origin  of  the  streams. — A  part  of  the  rain  sinks  into  the  ground, 
which  at  a  varying  distance  from  the  surface  is  fall  of  water.  The 
surface  of  this  ground  water  is  the  water  table.  When  the  bottom  of 
any  ravine  is  worn  below  the  water  table,  water  seeps  into  it  from  the 
sides,  and  would  fill  it  to  the  surface  of  the  water  in  the  adjacent  rocks, 
were  the  water  not  continually  flowing  away  as  the  stream.  In  addition, 
streams  receive  water  that  falls  as  rain  on  their  surfaces,  and  that  runs 
directly  from  the  tributary  slopes.  All  the  permanent  streams  of  this 
area,  however,  are  maintained  primarily  by  the  issuance  of  ground  water 
along  their  lower  valley  sides. 

The  position  of  the  water  table  is  not  constant.  It  rises  during  periods 
of  rain  and  falls  in  times  of  drought.  Eavines  whose  bottoms  are  below 
the  water  table  when  it  is  high,  but  above  it  when  it  is  low,  contain 
intermittent  streams.  Most  of  the  streams  of  this  area  are  of  this  class. 
Furthermore,  the  small  valleys  which  possess  streams  in  their  lower  por- 
tions are  without  them  near  their  heads,  where  they  have  not  reached 
the  water  table.  Certain  valleys,  too,  which  extend  from  the  clay 
uplands  across  the  Illinois  terraces  to  the  river,  have  permanent  streams 
in  the  uplands,  which  wither  and  disappear  on  reaching  the  terraces. 
This  is  because  the  lowest  position  of  the  water  table  in  the  porous  sands 
and  gravels  of  the  terraces  is  almost  at  the  level  of  the  river. 


STATE   GEOLOGICAL   SURVEY. 


Bull.  No.  15,  Plate  12. 


A.    A  meandering  stream.    (Photo  by  Neal.) 


B.    Meandering  stream  and  ox-bow  lake.    (Photo  by  Neal.) 


barrows. J  POST-GLACIAL   CHANGES.  57 

Once  a  valley  has  acquired  a  permanent  stream,  it  grows  more  rapidly 
than  before  in  all  dimensions,  becoming  steadily  deeper,  wider,  and 
longer. 

The  deepening  of  the  valleys. — Since  within  this  area  the  bottoms  of 
most  of  the  valleys  are  in  drift,  the  smaller  material  along  their  stream 
channels  is  readily  removed.  Fine  sediment  is  often  carried  in  suspen- 
sion by  upward  moving  currents,  formed  by  projections  of  the  bed  or 
banks.  Somewhat  larger  material  is  rolled  or  dragged  along  the  bottom. 
When  bowlders  too  large  to  be  moved  by  the  current  are  discovered  in 
the  till  in  which  the  valley  is  cut,  they  must  remain  upon  the  floor  of 
the  channel  until  worn  to  a  size  within  the  capacity  of  the  stream. 

A  few  of  the  ravines  of  the  area  are  floored  in  part  with  firm  bed 
rock.  Clear  water  has  little  effect  upon  such  material,  but  the  sand  and 
gravel  carried  by  the  stream  rub  and  strike  the  bottom,  and  from  time 
to  time  wear  or  break  off  bits  of  rock  which  are  carried  away  by  the 
current. 

The  fact  has  been  pointed  out  in  earlier  connections  that  as  a  stream 
lowers  its  channel,  erosion  becomes  slower,  for  the  slope  of  the  channel 
and  in  consequence  the  velocity  of  the  current,  are  steadily  reduced. 
Finally  a  gradient  is  reached  below  which  the  stream  cannot  cut.  It 
is  then  said  to  be  at  grade.  This  represents  a  balance  between  trans- 
porting power  and  load,  the  slope  being  just  steep  enough  to  give  the 
stream  the  velocity  necessary  to  transport  its  load.  It  is  evident  that  the 
slopes  of  channels  at  grade  vary  in  steepness.  Large  streams  with  rela- 
tively little  loads  develop  very  gentle  slopes  before  reaching  grade.  The 
Chicago  Outlet  river,  discussed  above,  is  a  remarkable  example.  Smaller 
streams  with  relatively  large  loads  find  themselves  at  grade  on  steeper 
slopes.  From  this  it  follows  that  a  given  stream  flowing  over  a  slope 
without  cutting  or  depositing  may  not  remain  at  grade;  if  its  volume 
is  increased  or  its  load  decreased,  it  will  cut  to  a  lower  and  gentler  slope, 
while  if  the  opposite  change  in  volume  or  load  occurs,  it  will  develop  a 
steeper  channel  by  deposition.  There  is  thus  a  limit  below  which  the 
small  valleys  of -the  region  cannot  be  cut.  At  their  mouths  this  is  the 
level  of  the  larger  valleys  to  which  they  lead ;  upstream  from  this  point 
it  is  a  gentle  gradient  to  which  no  definite  degree  of  slope  is  assignable. 

Many  small  valleys  have  been  cut  with  reference  to  an  Illinois  valley 
terrace,  rather  than  the  Illinois  flood-plain,  as  a  base-level.  Such  val- 
leys are  of  course  less  deep  than  those  whose  mouths  are  at  the  level 
of  the  river. 

The  widening  of  valleys. — The  development  of  a  valley  flat  by  the 
side  cutting  of  its  stream  was  discussed  on  page  54,  in  connection  with 
the  flood-plain  of  the  Illinois  river.  Vertical  erosion  often  continues 
slowly  after  active  side  cutting  begins.  This  has  led  to  the  formation 
of  terraces  along  many  of  the  small  valleys  of  the  area.  From  the  dis- 
cussion of  preceding  pages  it  will  be  understood  that  such  terraces  are 
likely  to  be  destroyed  by  side  cutting  at  lower  levels.  While  valleys  are 
ultimately  widened  chiefly  by  the  lateral  erosion  of  their  streams  (Plate 
13,  B),  other  processes  aid  that  have  been  in  operation  from  the  begin- 


58  THE   MIDDLE   ILLINOIS   VALLEY.  [bull.  no.  15 

ning.  (1)  Each  rain  washes  material  down  the  sides.  (2)  Masses  of 
earth  sometimes  slide  (slump)  down  the  sides  of  the  valley.  Slumping  is 
particularly  common  with  clay,  which  during  heavy  rains  becomes  both 
heavy  and  slippery  (Plate  14,  A).  (3)  Material  near  the  surface  moves 
slowly  down  the  side  slopes  by  a  process  called  creep.  Earth  particles  ex- 
pand under  the  heat  of  day>  and  chiefly  clown  slope,  for  gravity  assists 
downward  movement,  while  it  opposes  expansion  up  slope.  When  the  par- 
ticles cool  they  contract,  and  largely  from  their  upslope  ends,  since  this 
again  involves  movement  with,  rather  than  against  gravity.  The  result 
of  many  expansions  and  contractions  is  an  appreciable  movement  toward 
the  valley  bottom.  When  the  valley  sides  are  of  clay,  creep  is  invited 
in  another  way.  As  it  drys  after  rains  the  clay  shrinks  and  cracks, 
forming  the  familiar  sun-cracks.  Because  of  the  influence  of  gravity, 
the  opening  of  a  horizontal  crack  is  largely  the  result  of  the  down-slope 
movement  of  the  clay  below,  rather  than  the  up-slope  movement  of  that 
above.  WTith  the  first  shower  the  clay  swells  and  the  crack  is  closed. 
Under  the  influence  of  gravity  it  is  closed  chiefly  from  above  rather 
than  from  below.  Eepeated  shrinking  and  swelling  means  very  slow 
movement  down  slope.  The  trees  of  almost  every  valley  side  within  the 
area  lean  down  slope  because  of  creep.  The  surface  material  creeps 
faster  than  that  at  a  slight  depth,  tipping  the  trees  toward  the  axis  of 
the  valley  (Plate  14,  B).  (4)  Winds  may  blow  the  material  from  the 
sides  of  valleys,  thus  slightly  increasing  their  width.  Certain  other 
less  important  ways  in  which  valleys  are  widened  need  not  be  discussed 
here. 

If  the  sides  of  a  valley  are  of  unequal  resistance,  they  will  recede  at 
unequal  rates  and  if  they  vary  sufficiently,  the  valley  may  become  wide 
in  some  places,  while  still  narrow  in  others.  This  is  strikingly  illus- 
trated in  the  case  of  the  lower  Kickapoo  valley,  near  Peoria.  The 
"Horseshoe  Bottom"  has  been  opened  in  drift,  while  the  notable  con- 
striction just  below  is  in  Pennsylvanian  rocks. 

There  are  limits  to  the  width  which  a  valley  may  attain,  just  as  there 
are  to  its  depth.  These  limits  are  set  by  the  next  valley  upon  either 
side.  The  widening  of  adjacent  valleys  may  destroy  the  divide  between 
them,  however,  the  two  then  becoming  one.  This  possibility  is  illustrated 
near  the  right  hand  side  of  Plate  15,  A,  where  two  gullies  are  rapidly 
consuming  the  narrow  ridge  which  separates  them.  The  larger  gully 
formed  by  their  union  may  in  turn  unite  with  the  gully  next  to  the  left. 
The  final  outcome  of  this  process  among  valleys  would  be  the  reduction 
of  the  entire  area  to  the  level  of  the  valley  floors. 

The  lengthening  of  valleys. — This  is  not  accomplished  by  the  per- 
manent stream,  which,  as  noted  above,  begins  some  distance  below  the 
head  of  the  valley.  All  the  other  agencies  which  widen  valleys,  tend  also 
to  lengthen  them,  rain  wash  being  most  important. 

The  valley  head  is  carried  back  into  the  upland  in  the  direction  of 
greatest  erosion,  and  this  is  determined  by  the  slope  of  the  surface  and 
by  the  character  of  the  material.  If  the  slope  in  which  a  valley  heads 
is  uniform  and  the  material  everywhere  the  same,  most  water  will  enter 


STATE   GEOLOGICAL   SURVEY. 


Bull.  No.  15,   Plato  13. 


A .    A  young  gully  near  Lacon.    The  material  removed  in  the  formation  of  the  gully  is  spread  upon  the 
flat  in  the  foreground,  forming  an  alluvial  fan. 


B.    Crow  creek,  west  of  Henry,  widening  its  valley  by  lateral  erosion.    (Photo  by  Crane.) 


barrows.]  POST-GLACIAL   CHANGES.  59 

the  valley  from  straight  up  slope  and  the  valley  will  extend  itself  in  that 
direction.  More  often  minor  irregularities  of  slope  bring  the  major 
part  of  the  run-off  tributary  to  the  head  of  a  valley  first  from  one  direc- 
tion and  then,  after  a  longer  or  shorter  interval,  from  another.  The 
lino  of  least  resistanl  material  may  also  extend  in  dirierent  directions  at 
different  times.  For  these  reasons  the  courses  of  most  of  the  small 
valleys  are  irregular. 

Peculiarities  in  the  courses  of  certain  valleys  were  pointed  out  on 
pages  43-44.  Senachwine  creek  (the  one  north  of  Chillicothe)  also  fol- 
lows an  interesting  course.  Instead  of  flowing  east  by  the  shortest  line  to 
the  Illinois  in  the  vicinity  of  Sparland,  as  might  be  expected,  it  flows 
south  for  several  miles  parallel  to  the  main  valley,  and  finally  empties 
near  Chillicothe.  The  explanation  is  found  in  the  presence  of  a  minor 
morainic  ridge  southwest  of  Sparland,  which  extends  roughly  north  and 
south.  The  Senachwine  flows  around  this  ridge  to  reach  the  Illinois 
river.  Morainic  ridges  also  influence  the  courses  of  some  of  the  streams 
shown  on  the  Hennepin  quadrangle.  Big  Bureau  creek  flows  south  past 
Princeton  along  the  edge  of  the  Bloomington  moraine;  west  of  Tiskilwa 
a  curve  in  the  moraine  turns  the  creek  sharply  to  the  east,  to  meet  the 
Illinois  at  the  great  bend.  The  parallel  courses  of  East  Bureau  and 
Brush  creeks  appear  to  be  determined  by  minor  ridges. 

A  valley  ceases  to  grow  by  headward  erosion  only  when  stopped  by 
rival  drainage  in  the  opposite  direction.  If  the  material  upon  which 
opposite  flowing  streams  work  is  the  same,  the  divide  between  them 
ceases  to  shift  horizontally  when  the  opposing  slopes  are  of  equal  steep- 
ness. Thus  the  growth  of  any  given  valle}^  within  the  area  is  limited  in 
all  three  dimensions;  in  depth  by  the  level  of  the  valley  to  which  it 
leads,  and  in  width  and  length  by  rival  valleys.  A  further  point  con- 
cerning the  lengthening  of  the  valleys  in  this  area  is  worthy  of  note. 
All  have  been  lengthened  by  headward  erosion;  some  of  those  which  are 
directly  tributary  to  the  Illinois  valley  have  been  lengthened  also  at 
their  lower  ends.  When  the  Illinois  river,  flowing  at  the  level  of  one  of 
its  terraces,  shifted  toward  the  center  of  its  valley  from  a  position  near 
the  bluffs,  it  was  followed  across  the  flood-plain  by  the  permanent 
streams  that  entered  it  on  the  side  from  which  it  withdrew.  When  the 
Illinois  later  lowered  its  channel  into  the  flood-plain,  forming  the  ter- 
race, the  extended  tributaries  were  enabled  to  cut  valleys  in  the  ter- 
race, which  differed  from  the  older  upland  sections  in  several  respects. 
They  were  of  course  less  deep,  and  the  streams  preceded  the  valleys,  all 
parts  of  which  are  of  the  same  age. 

Struggle  for  existence  among  ravines. — It  is  not  to  be  inferred  from 
the  foregoing  paragraphs  that  all  gullies  become  valleys,  or  even  ravines. 
Quite  the  reverse  is  true.  Few  of  the  gullies  shown  in  Plate  15,  A,  for 
example,  can  grow  to  ravinehood.  As  they  widen,  the  intervening  divides 
will  be  worn  out,  combining  adjacent  gullies  and  reducing  the  number. 
Some  of  the  larger  gullies  are  already  invading  the  slopes  above  their 
shorter  neighbors,  thus  capturing  the  run-off  which  otherwise  would  go 
to  the  latter,  whose  headward  growth  is  likely  to  be  cut  short.  Such  a 
group  of  gullies  may  be  entirely  destroyed  in  the  formation  of  a  single 


60  THE    MIDDLE   ILLINOIS   VALLEY.  [bull.  no.  15 

ravine,  which  will  in  turn  presently  find  its  growth  contested  by  other 
ravines.  Such  a  conflict  is  shown  in  Plate  2,  among  the  ravines  near 
Wesley.  Little  opportunity  for  growth  remains  to  most  of  the  ravines 
in  the  vicinity,  and  many  are  doomed  to  destruction  by  their  more 
powerful  rivals. 

Tributary  valleys. — Most  of  the  small  valleys  of  the  area  have  tribu- 
taries. They  began  in  the  same  manner  as  the  parent  valleys.  If  more 
water  from  the  sides  entered  at  certain  points  than  at  others,  because  of 
inequalities  of  slope,  it  flowed  faster  and  eroded  more  rapidly  at  such 
places  than  elsewhere,  starting  gullies.  The  same  result  was  achieved 
if  the  material  of  the  valley  sides  was  less  resistant  along  certain  linei 
than  along  others.  The  first  generation  of  tributaries  usually  developed 
tributaries  of  its  own,  and  in  many  cases  the  process  has  been  repeated 
a  number  of  times. 

Stages  in  valley  development. — Since  valleys  increase  in  size  as  they 
advance  in  years,  it  has  been  found  convenient  to  adopt  certain  terms 
descriptive  of  the  several  leading  stages  in  their  development,  A  young 
valley  is  one  that  is  still  narrow  and  steep-sided;  it  is  generally  short 
and  often  has  a  relatively  steep  bottom  and  poorly  developed  tribu- 
taries. A  mature  valley  is  wider  and  deeper  and  longer ;  in  cross  section 
it  has  become  U-shaped,  rather  than  V-shaped ;  its  gradient  is  less  steep 
and  its  tributaries  more  numerous  and  better  developed.  An  old  valley 
is  shallow  and  wide,  with  a  low  gradient  and  gently  sloping  sides.  Cor- 
responding terms  are  applied  to  regions  as  a  whole.  An  area  is  in  the 
youthful  stage  of  its  development  when  its  valleys  are  young,  and  exten- 
sive interstream  areas  are  untouched  by  drainage  lines;  most  of  the  work 
of  reducing  the  area  to  baselevel  (p.  23)  remains  to  be  done.  An 
area  is  mature  when  thoroughly  dissected  with  valleys,  so  that  slope  is 
at  a  maximum.  Finally,  an  area  is  old  when  it  has  been  reduced  to  a 
low,  flatfish  plain,  with  broad,  shallow,  flat-floored  valleys. 

With  the  exception  of  the  Illinois,  the  valleys  of  the  area  under  con- 
sideration are  all  young,  for  they  are  all  narrow  and  steep-sided.  They 
represent  various  stages  in  youthful  development,  however,  a  fact  clearly 
shown  by  Plate  2.  This  is  because  some  were  begun  earlier  than  others, 
and  also  because  water  was  received  from  a  larger  area,  and  the  rocks 
were  less  resistant  in  some  cases  than  in  others.  The  middle  Illinois 
valley  may  perhaps  be  taken  to  represent  late  maturity;  so  far  as  the 
width  and  slope  of  its  flood-plain  are  concerned,  it  is  old,  but  the  valley 
sides  are  still  high  and  steep.  This  combination  of  characteristics  be- 
longing to  different  stages  of  erosion  is  a  consequence  of  the  peculiar 
history  of  the  valley.  The  great  discrepancy  in  age  between  the  middle 
Illinois  valley  and  its  tributaries  is  explained  by  the  fact  that  the  former 
was  developed  by  a  powerful  river  feci  by  the  ice  sheet  and  the  temporary 
lakes  in  its  upper  valley  (p.  46),  and  by  Lake  Chicago,  while  the  latter 
were  formed  by  very  small  streams,  most  of  them  intermittent, 

North  central  Illinois,  taken  as  a  whole,  is  in  a  youthful  stage  of  de- 
velopment, Limited  areas  bordering  the  middle  Illinois  valley  are  so 
dissected  by  small  valleys  as  to  be  nearly  all  slope,  and  are  therefore 


STATE   GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY. 


Bull.  No.  15,  Plate  14. 


A.    The  widening  of  a  valley  by  slumping. 


B.    Creep  on  a  ravine  side  shown  by  leaning  trees. 


barrows.  I  POST-GLACIAL   CHANGES.  61 

mature.  But  outside  the  Illinois  valley  and  the  adjacent  ravine  land, 
the  work  of  reducing  to  base-level  the  surface  left  by  the  ice  has  been 
scarcely  begun. 

Influence  of  Illinois  river  upon  configuration  of  small  valleys. — We 
have  seen  (p.  5?)  that  the  small  valleys  cannot  be  eroded  below  the 
level  of  the  Illinois  valley,  and  in  connection  with  certain  valleys  in 
the  Illinoian  drift  (p.  44)  that  deposition  by  the  main  river  compels 
deposition  by  its  tributaries.  Some  of  the  larger  tributary  valleys  ap- 
pear to  have  developed  with  reference  to  the  Illinois  valley  when  the  ice 
sheet  still  lingered  in  the  northern  part  of  the  area.  Later,  when  the 
Outlet  river  lowered  the  main  valley,  the  tributaries  were  able  also  to 
degrade  their  channels  actively.  The  effect  was  of  course  felt  first  at 
the  mouths  of  the  tributaries,  and  the  new  gradient  established  there 
extended  itself  upstream  by  headward  erosion.  When  this  extension  was 
only  partly  accomplished,  the  lakes  ceased  to  discharge  to  the  southwest, 
and  the  Illinois  .commenced  to  aggrade  its  valley.  This  of  course  forced 
tiie  tributaries  to  deposit  near  their  mouths,  and  as  noted  under  the 
following  heading,  deposition  is  still  in  progress  there.  The  result  of 
these  changes  is  that  many  of  the  larger  tributary  valleys  have  steeper 
gradients  in  their  lower  than  in  their  upper  courses.  This  is  especially 
well  shown  on  the  Metamora  quadrangle,  which  extends  east  of  the  river 
far  enough  to  include  the  heads  of  a  number  of  large  ravines.     Figure 


Fig.  32.    Profile  of  Dry  Run  creek,  east  of  Chillicothe. 

32  shows  a  profile  of  the  bottom  of  Dry  Eun  creek,  east  of  Chillicothe; 
the  gentle  slope  of  the  upper  valley  is  in  sharp  contrast  with  the  steeper 
slope  of  the  middle  and  lower  valley.  In  contrast  with  this,  valley 
bottoms  normally  become  increasingly  steep  headward. 

Building  of  alluvial  fans. — The  condition  of  the  Illinois  also  com- 
pelled its  tributaries  to  build  alluvial  fans.  The  alluvial  fans  of  the 
middle  Illinois  valley  were  described  in  Chapter  I  as  among  its  more 
striking  and  peculiar  features,  and  their  influence  upon  the  position  and 
width  of  the  river  discussed.  They  occur  both  upon  the  flood-plain  and 
the  terraces  of  the  Illinois  at  the  mouths  of  practically  all  the  tributary 
valleys.  Their  size  corresponds  roughly  with  that  of  the  valleys  which 
they  front,  and  varies  from  that  shown  in  Plate  1,  A,  and  Plate  13,  A,  to 
hundreds  of  acres.  The  building  of  alluvial  fans  began  along  the  Illi- 
nois flood-plain  upon  the  loss  of  the  overflow  from  the  Great  Lakes. 
The  Outlet  river  covered  the  present  flood-plain  and  carried  away  all 
the  material  brought  down  by  the  tributaries ;  the  Illinois  occupied  but 
a  fraction  of  the  old  channel,  and  began  at  once  to  deposit.  The  velocity 
and  hence  the  transporting  power  of  a  tributary  was  promptly  checked 
when  it  left  the  relatively  high  gradient  of  its  owrn  valley  (developed 
in  response  to  the  erosion  of  the  Outlet  river)  to  enter  the  flat  floor  of 
the  Illinois  valley.     The  resulting  deposit  choked  the  channel  of  the 


62  THE   MIDDLE   ILLINOIS   VALLEY.  [bull.  no.  15 

tributary,  and  some  of  the  water  spread  to  right  and  left  of  the  obstruc- 
tion. The  process  being  repeated  many  times,  and  the  stream  mean- 
while extending  the  deposits  in  the  direction  of  its  flow,  they  acquired 
more  or  less  of  the  "fan"  shape,  which  is  characteristic  of  such  deposits, 
and  which  suggested  their  name.  Many  of  the  larger  fans  are  char- 
acterized in  their  outer  portions  by  water  channels  which  give  off 
branches  that  in  turn  repeatedly  divide.  The  explanation  of  these 
branching  channels  (distributaries)  is  involved  in  what  has  already 
been  said.  Deposition  in  a  given  channel  reduces  its  capacity  until  some 
of  the  water  breaks  over  the  side  and  follows  an  independent  course  to 
the  margin  of  the  fan;  the  new  channel  becoming  choked,  gives  on* 
other  distributaries,  and  so  the  process  is  repeated..  The  spreading  of 
the  water  flowing  over  the  fan  becomes  in  itself  an  important  cause  of 
deposition,  because  it  increases  the  friction  of  flow,  and  therefore  de- 
creases the  velocity.  Deposition  is  also  caused  by  the  fact  that  fre- 
quently much  or  all  of  the  water  sinks  into  the  porous  material  of  the 
fan.  Thus  the  growth  of  the  fans  is  due  to  (1)  decrease  in  gradient, 
(2)  increase  in  friction  of  flow,  and  (3)  decrease  in  volume. 

The  distribution  of  the  material  in  the  alluvial  fans  is  worthy  of  note. 
The  coarsest  material  is  dropped  at  the  apex,  where  the  stream  is  first 
checked,  and  the  deposit  made  at  any  given  time  becomes  progressively 
finer  toward  the  margin.  This  does  not  mean  that  a  vertical  section 
through  an  alluvial  fan,  all  parts  of  which  are  at  the  same  distance  from 
the  apex,  would  show  material  of  the  same  degree  of  coarseness.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  material  would  be  likely  to  change  frequently  both  hori- 
zontally and  vertically,  for  the  volume  (and  so  the  transporting  power) 
of  different  distributaries  would  vary  at  the  same  time,  and  of  any  given 
distributary  at  different  times.  Such  variations  near  the  tops  of  various 
fans  may  be  seen  in  the  walls  of  the  channels  which  cross  them.  Great 
variations  are  shown  also  in  a  series  of  borings  made  by  the  Peoria  Water 
Works  Company  in  the  fan  of  Ten-Mile  creek. 

The  angles  of  slope  of  fans  depend  upon  how  suddenly  and  how  much 
the  velocity  of  the  depositing  waters  was  reduced,  and  upon  the  kind  and 
amount  of  material  they  carried.  A  sudden  and  great  reduction  in  the 
velocity  of  a  stream  heavily  loaded  with  coarse  material,  gives  a  relatively 
steep  slope;  the  opposite  combination  a  gentle  one.  In  general,  the 
smaller,  intermittent  streams  have  built  relatively  steep  fans,  while 
those  of  larger  streams,  such  as  Farm  creek  (Fig.  13  and  Plate  2),  have 
low  slopes.  Like  other  clepositional  slopes  (see  Fig.  12  and  Plate  4,  B), 
the  profile  of  a  fan  along  any  radius  is  a  curve  concave  upwards.  This 
may  be  readily  seen  in  the  smaller  fans  (Plate  1,  A).  The  fans  located 
upon  the  Illinois  flood-plain  would  be  even  more  conspicuous  were  it 
not  for  the  up-building  of  the  flat  which  surrounds  them.1 

Changes  in  stream*  courses. — There  are  a  few  examples  within  the 
area  of  sections  of  valleys  that  have  been  deserted  by  the  streams  which 


1  Some  idea  of  the  rate  at  which  Farm  creek  has  extended  its  deposits  may  be  gained  from  the  follow- 
ing: "This  lake  (Lake  Peoria)  was  twenty-five  years  ego  much  wider  at  the  lower  end.  but  sjrx-e  that 
time  the  little  Farm  creek  has  formed  about  a  hundred  acres  of  alluvium  just  opposite  the  middle  part 
of  the  city."     (History  of  Peoria  County  (1880),  p.  293.) 


STATE   GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY. 


Bull.  No.  15,  Plate  15. 


A.    View  illustrating  struggle  for  existence  among  gullies. 


B.    Map  showing  stream  piracy  east  of  Chillicothe.      (Portion  of  Metamora  topographic  map,  U. 

Geol.  Surv.) 


barrows.]  POST-GLACIAL   CHANGES.  63 

once  occupied  them.  One  is  shown  in  Plate  15,  B.  The  depression  be- 
tween the  valleys  of  Crow  creek  and  Snag  creek,  through  which  the 
wagon  road  passes,  was  clearly  formed  by  running  water.  That  Snag 
creek  formerly  flowed  through  it  into  Crow  creek,  and  not  Crow  creek 
to  join  Snag  creek,  is  strongly  suggested  by  the  trend  of  the  bluffs  on 
either  side  of  the  depression.  A  small  tributary  of  the  Illinois,  oc- 
cupying what  is  now  the  lower  portion  of  the  valley  of  Snag  creek,  ap- 
pears to  have  worked  back  by  headward  erosion  until  it  reached  Snag 
creek,  which  it  diverted  to  its  present  course.  Similar  changes  in  drain- 
age have  occurred  on  a  vastly  larger  scale  in  various  parts  of  the  Ap- 
palachian mountain  region.  A  stream  which  accomplishes  such  a  diver- 
sion is  known  as  a  pirate,  and  the  process  as  stream  piracy. 

A  change  has  taken  place  in  the  course  of  Big  Bureau  creek  two  miles 
northwest  of  Princeton.  A  few  other  drainage  changes  have  occurred 
elsewhere  in  the  area. 

Other  Post-Glacial  Changes. 

In  addition  to  the  matters  noted  above,  various  less  conspicuous,  but 
not  unimportant  changes  have  been  in  progress.  The  wind  has  shifted 
much  fine  material  about,  of  which  no  record  is  preserved  in  surface 
features;  an  unknown,  but  doubtless  large  amount  has  been  carried 
entirely  outside  the  area,  but  on  the  other  hand,  a  large  quantity  has 
also  been  imported.  Rains  have  washed  vast  quantities  of  earth  from 
higher  to  lower  levels;  their  efficiency  is  shown,  for  example,  in  the 
reduction  of  certain  sections  of  the  Illinois  bluffs  (Plate  4).  The 
oxygen  of  the  atmosphere  has  entered  into  combination  with  the  iron 
of  the  upper  till,  producing  its  characteristic  reddish-yellow  color. 
Ground  waters  have  generally  removed  in  solution  the  soluble  consti- 
tuents of  the  till  in  the  surface  zone;  locally  they  have  deposited  ma- 
terial from  solution,  cementing  originally  loose  drift  into  compact  rock. 
Earthworms  have  brought  large  quantities  of  fine  material  up  to  the 
surface,  making  important  contributions  to  the  soil.  On  the  flood-plain 
of  the  Illinois  river  and  on  the  flat  upland  prairie,  where  drainage  is 
poor,  partially  decayed  vegetation  has  been  mixed  in  large  quantity  with 
the  surface  material  to  form  rich  black  soils ;  on  the  hilly  land  just  back 
from  the  Illinois  bluffs,  it  is  removed  by  erosion,  and  the  yellow  soil  is 
less  fertile.  Locally,  as  indicated  on  page  19,  deposits  of  peat  are  being 
made  on  the  flood-plain. 


64  THE    MIDDLE    ILLINOIS   VALLEY.  [bull.  no.  1C 


CHAPTER  V. 


THE  SETTLEMENT  AND  DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  REGION. 


Introduction. 

Any  discussion  of  the  geographic  conditions  that  have  influenced  the- 
development  of  the  middle  Illinois  valley  must  consider  many  events  and 
places  outside  the  area  itself.  Thus,  for  example,  steam  navigation  upon 
the  Great  Lakes,  the  lumber  industry  of  Michigan  and  Wisconsin,  and 
the  Illinois  and  Michigan  canal  vitally  affected  the  region.  This  chapter,, 
therefore,  is  less  local  in  its  discussion  than  the  preceding  ones. 

One  of  the  most  important  geographic  factors  in  the  history  of  Illi- 
nois is  its  location  between  the  Great  Lakes  and  the  Mississippi  river. 
Throughout  the  history  of  the  State,  the  Illinois  vallev  has  formed  the 
greatest  natural  highway  between  the  two.  It  was  followed  by  the  first 
white  men  who  crossed  the  State;  it  became  an  important  highway  of 
the  fur  trader ;  and  it  guided  toward  the  north  a  great  stream  of  Southern 
settler?,  which  met  and  mingled  in  the  middle  valley  with  a  wave  of  im- 
migration from  the  East  that  had  followed  the  valley  south  from  the 
vicinity  of  Lake  Michigan.  Today  the  counties  bordering  the  Illinois 
river  and  its  continuation,  tfee  Illinois-Michigan  canal,  contain  over 
one-half  (51%)  of  the  population  of  the  State. 

Southern  Pioneers  in  the  Region. 

Illinois  is  385  miles  in  length,  extending  from  the  latitude  of  Lynn,. 
Massachusetts,  to  that  of  Newport  News,  Virginia.  Since  American  ex- 
pansion has  been  chiefly  westward,  along  such  highways  as  the  Great 
Lakes  and  the  Ohio  river,  the  State  drew  its  early  population  from  widely 
separated  areas.  The  southern  part  was  occupied  by  people  largely  from 
the  South  and  Southwest,  while  the  northern  portion  was  settled  by  im- 
migrants from  the  middle  Atlantic  states  and  New  England. 

The  accompanying  maps,  Figures  33  and  34,  show  the  advance  of 
southern  settlement  toward  the  Illinois  valley.  In  1820  (Fig.  33) 
population  was  confined  to  the  southern  portion  of  the  State,  and  chiefly 
to  the  vicinity  of  the  Wabash,  Ohio,  and  Mississippi  rivers,  and  certain 


BARROWS.] 


SETTLEMENT  AND  DEVELOPMENT. 


65 


Fig.  33.    Map  showing  distribution  and  density  of  population  in  Illinois  in  1820. 

-5  G 


66  THE   MIDDLE    ILLINOIS   VALLEY.  [bull.  no.  15 

of  their  larger  tributaries.  Not  a  man  in  the  constitutional  convention 
that  met  at  Kaskaskia  in  1818  came  from  any  portion  of  the  State  north 
of  Madison  and  Crawford  counties.1  In  1819  a  farm  in  southwestern 
Logan  county  was  thought  to  be  the  most  northerly  in  the  State.2  These 
people  had  come  from  the  Piedmont  Plateau,  and  especially  from  Ken- 
tucky and  Tennessee.  The  areas  of  richer  soil  in'  the  last  mentioned 
states  had  become  overcrowded  to  the  typical  frontiersman,  who  sought 
cheaper  land  and  freer  conditions  farther  west.  A  portion  of  this  over- 
flow was  insured  to  Illinois  by  (1)  its  extension  southward  well  beyond 
the  northernmost  latitude  of  Kentucky,  (2)  its  nearness,  and  (3)  the 
various  navigable  rivers  which,  leading  from  the  older  settlements,  fo- 
cused upon  its  southern  border.  » 

During  the  next  few  years,  settlement  spread  northward  into  the 
Sangamon  region.  In  1823,  Springfield  was  a  frontier  village  contain- 
ing a  dozen  log  cabins ;  the  site  of  Peoria  was  occupied  by  a  few  families, 
and  that  of  Chicago  by  a  military  and  trading  post.3  The  rest  of  north- 
ern Illinois  was  entirely  unoccupied.  In  the  latter  part  of  the  twenties 
the  Sangamon  country  filled  rapidly,  one  hundred  wagons  in  a  single 
train  being  frequently  seen  on  their  way  there.4  A  new  impetus  was 
given  to  the  movement  by  the  establishment  of  steam  navigation  on  the 
Illinois  river  in  1828.  By  1830  (Fig.  34)  the  Sangamon  district 
was  overflowing  into  the  Illinois  valley,  which  contained  a  few  settlers 
well  beyond  Peoria.  Tazewell5  and  Woodford6  counties  had  received 
their  first  settlers  in  1823,  Marshall  county  in  1827,7  and  Bureau  county 
in  1828.8 

The  southern  pioneers  who  settled  Illinois  were  hunters  rather  than 
farmers.  They  were  thoroughly  familiar  through  generations  of  experi- 
ence with  the  conditions  and  problems  of  forest  life,  but  at  their  coming 
knew  nothing  of  conditions  on  the  prairies.  Their  advance  northward 
was  therefore  in  general  limited  to  the  forest  area  (Fig.  359).  They 
had,  however,  followed  the  wooded  banks  of  the  Illinois  river  well  into 
the  prairie  region.  Small  clearings  in  the  timber  were  tilled  in  an  ir- 
regular and  unscientific  manner,  and  the  hunter  pioneer  was  being  slowly 
transformed  into  the  farmer.  It  appeared  likely  that  the  entire  Illinois 
valley  and,  when  the  problem  of  handling  the  prairies  should  finally 
be  solved,  all  the  northern  portion  of  the  State,  would  be  settled  by 
southerners,  and  dominated  by  southern  institutions  and  ideals.  Fear 
of  such  a  possibility,  and  of  its  possible  political  consequences  had  led 
Congress  to  give  Illinois  its  present  northern  boundary  line  when  it 


1  Ballance:    History  of  Peoria,  p.  50. 

2  Ferdinand  Ernst:     Publ.  No.  8  of  the  Hist.  Lib.  of  111.,  p.  161. 

3  Albach:    Annals  of  the  West,  p.  993. 

4  Pooley:    University  of  Wisconsin  Bulletin,  No.  220,  p.  89. 

8  Bateman  and  Selby:    Historical  Encyclopedia  of  Illinois,  p.  418. 

6  History  of  Woodford  County,  p.  227. 

7  Bateman  and  Selby:    Historical  Encyclopedia  of  Illinois,  p.  353. 
H  Ibid.,  p.  67;  Matson:    Reminiscences  of  Bureau  County,  p.  247. 

9  This  map,  published  by  Gerhard  in  his  "Illinois  as  it  is"  (1857),  is  about  the  only  one  which  shows 
the  original  distribution  of  woodland  and  prairie  with  any  approach  to  accuracy.  Even  it,  however, 
is  faulty,  at  least  locally,  in  details.  Some  attempt,  based  on  local  discussions,  has  been  made  to  correct 
it  in  the  six  counties  of  the  report.  Elsewhere  it  remains  unchanged .  A  statement  of  the  ratio  of  wood- 
land to  total  area  throughout  the  state  in  1880  may  be  found  in  Porter:    The  West  in  1880,  pp.  162-163. 


BARROW  S.) 


SETTLEMENT  AND  DEVELOPMENT. 


67 


Under  6  to  the  sq.  mile 
I  6  to  18  to  the  sq.  mile 


Fig.  34.    Map  showing  distribution  and  density  of  population  in  Illinois  in  1830. 


6b  THE    MIDDLE    ILLINOIS   VALLEY.  Tbull.  no.  15 

was  admitted  as  a  State  in  1818/ in  place  of  the  line  originally  intended, 
extending  due  west  from  the  southern  bend  of  Lake  Michigan.  It  was 
hoped  that  the  fifty  miles  of  frontage  on  Lake  Michigan  would  give  (as 
it  did)  the  northern  part  of  Illinois  many  settlers  from  the  north- 
eastern states,  and  close  commercial  and  political  ties  with  that  section.1 
In  1832  the  southern  advance  along  the  Illinois  valley  was  checked,  and, 
save  at  Peoria,  the  settlers  were  driven  south  and  east  of  the  river  by 
Black  Hawk's  war.  Before  the  southern  frontier  had  recovered  from  this 
blow,  a  great  northern  stream  of  immigration  from  New  York  and  New 
England  had  swept  into  the  unoccupied  portions  of  the  valley,  occupying 
first  the  woodland  and  later  the  prairie. 

New  England  Pioneers  in  the  Middle  Illinois  Valley. 

Causes  of  emigration  from  New  England. — For  two  centuries  New 
England  was  dominated  by  the  ocean,  its  prosperity  dependent  chiefly 
on  shipbuilding,  fishing,  and  the  carrying  trade.  This  section,  there- 
fore, took  comparatively  little  part  in  the  westward  movement  until 
long  after  the  land-hungry,  agricultural  south.  In  the  decade  1820- 
1830,  however,  an  expansion  started  up  actively  from  New  England 
that  was  destined  to  become  a  movement  of  great  proportions  later. 
Many  causes  contributed  to  it.2  Shipping  declined:  Agriculture  was  ex- 
tensively replaced  by  sheep  and  cattle  raising  in  the  back-country  uplands, 
and  many  small  farmers  found  it  advantageous  to  sell  their  land  to  stock 
growers  and  go  west.  The  lowlands  were  occupied,  and  wheat  could  not 
be  grown  with  profit  on  the  stony,  infertile  hillsides,  particularly  in  the 
face  of  western  competition.  Immigrants  displaced  native  workers  in 
many  mills.  "The  financial  crisis  of  1837  combined  with  crop  failures 
to  increase  the  economic  distress.  On  the  other  hand,  conditions  upon 
the  western  frontier  were  very  attractive  to  the  struggling  New  England 
farmer.  In  1820  government  land  was  reduced  to  one  dollar  and  a 
quarter  an  acre  in  blocks  as  small  as  eighty  acres.  Much  larger  crops 
could  be  grown  with  much  less  labor.  Furthermore,  the  expense  and 
time  involved  in  reaching  the  AYest  were  greatly  reduced  by  the  opening 
of  the  Erie  canal  in  1825,  and  the  development  of  steam  navigation 
upon  the  western  lakes  in  the  thirties.  These  improvements  also  meant 
cheap  transportation  of  western  grain  to  eastern  markets,  once  it  had 
reached  a  lake  port.  The  first  emigrants  sent  glowing  descriptions  of 
the  western  lands  to  friends  and  relatives  in  the  East;  discontent  and 
restlessness  became  general,  and  tens  of  thousands  turned  their  faces 
to  the  west  to  start  life  anew.  Large  contributions  to  the  western  popu- 
lation were  also  made  by  the  states  farther  south,  where  economic  con- 
ditions were  also  unsatisfactory. 

Principal  routes  to  the  middle  Illinois  valley. — Before  the  opening 
of  the  Erie  canal,  the  journey  from  New  England  to  the  West  was  slow, 
difficult,  and  expensive.     Emigrants  from -western  New  England  could 


1  Ford:    History  of  Illinois,  pp.  19-24. 

2  Turner:    Rise  of  the  New  West,  pp.  15-16;  Pooley:    University  of  Wisconsin  Bulletin,  No.  220, 
pp.44-5,;!. 


BARROWS.] 


SETTLEMENT  AND  DEVELOPMENT. 


69 


Fig.  3.5.    Map  showing  distribution  of  prairie  and  woodland  in  Illinois.    (Modified  from  Gerhard.) 


70  THE    MIDDLE    ILLINOIS   VALLEY.  [BULL.  NO.  15 

use  the  Mohawk  and  Genesee  turnpike  to  Lake  Erie,  or  the  Catskill 
turnpike  to  the  upper  Allegheny.1  Those  leaving  eastern  New  England 
usually  went  by  sea  to  Philadelphia  or  Baltimore  and  thence  by  stage 
over  the  Allegheny  mountains  to  the  Ohio  river.  It  required  twenty- 
seven  days  for  a  party  from  Boston  to  come  in  1831  to  the  lower  Illinois 
valley  by  way  of  Pittsburg  and  the  Ohio,  Mississippi,  and  Illinois  rivers. 
The  household  goods,  sent  from  Boston  by  sea  to  New  Orleans  and  up 
the  Mississippi  river,  arrived  much  later.2  In  1838,  the  passenger  fare 
from  New  York  to  Peoria  by  way  of  Philadelphia,  Pittsburg,  and  St. 
Louis,  involving  railroad,  canal,  and  river  travel,  was  forty  to  forty-six 
dollars.3 

The  Erie  canal  promptly  became  the  most  important  route  to  Lake 
Erie  in  1825.  There  were  still,  however,  few  vessels  upon  the  lower 
lakes  and  none  regularly  upon  the  upper,  so  that  various  courses  were 
followed  from  Lake  Erie  to  the  Illinois  valley.  Some  went  from  Buffalo 
by  boat  to  Erie,  by  stage  from  Erie  to  Beaver,  and  thence  by  steamboat 
to  St.  Louis  and  the  Illinois  river.  In  1831,  the  fare  from  New  York 
City  to  St.  Louis  by  this  route  was  $57. 62.4  Others  left  the  Lake  Erie 
boats  at  Ashtabula  or  Cleveland  and  went  south  to  the  Ohio  river.  Oc- 
casionally travelers  left  the  Ohio  river  at  Cincinnati  and  journeyed  by 
stage  to  St.  Louis.5  The  line  of  the  Ohio,  Mississippi,  and  Illinois  rivers 
was  often  used  by  people  intending  to  settle  as  far  north  as  Bureau 
county6;  in  1830  such  settlers  found  steamboat  service  available  to 
Peoria,  but  the  remainder  of  the  trip  was  by  land,  or  canoe  and  keel 
boat.  Some  of  the  Bureau  county  settlers  using  this  route  sent  their 
goods  by  ship  to  New  Orleans.  The  difficult  portion  of  the  trip  was 
considerably  shortened  when  steamboats  ran  west  regularly  to  Maumee 
Bay  and  Detroit.  From  the  former  point  emigrants  sometimes  went 
up  the  Maumee  river  in  keel  boats,  hauled  their  goods  across  the  twelve 
or  fifteen  mile  portage  to  the  Wabash,  and  floated  down  the  latter  stream 
to  the  vicinity  of  Terre  Haute,  from  which  point  they  went  west  by 
wagon  into  Illinois.7  Emigrants  are  known  to  have  made  their  way 
from  Detroit  to  Bureau  county  on  foot.8  The  delays  and  difficulties  en- 
countered in  reaching  the  Illinois  valley  as  late  as  1831  are  strikingly 
illustrated  by  the  experiences  of  the  founders  of  Princeton.  This  place, 
like  many  of  the  early  towns  in  New  England,  was  founded  as  a  colony 
by  a  religious  society,  and  not  by  individuals  as  such.  The  Hampshire 
Colony  was  organized  at  Northampton,  Massachusetts,  in  March,  1831. 
In  May  the  members  of  the  colony  met  at  Albany  for  the  trip  west. 
They  went  by  canal  boat  to  Buffalo,  and  from  there  by  steamer  to  De- 
troit.    Unable  to  secure  passage  on  a  sailing  vessel  to  Chicago,  they 


1  Turner:    "Rise  of  the  New  West,  pp.  80-82. 

2  Wiliard:    Transactions  Illinois  Historical  Society,  1906,  p.  74. 

3  Jones:    Illinois  and  the  West,  p.  254. 

4  Illinois  Monthly  Magazine,  V.  2,  p.  53. 

5  Flint:    Railroads  of  the  United  States,  p.  257. 

8  Bradsb>:    History  of  Bureau  County,  pp.  86,  129;  Matson:    Reminiscences  of  Bureau  County, 
p.  253. 

7  Conkey:    Transactions  Illinois  Historical  Society,  1906,  pp.  214-218. 

8  Matson:    Reminiscences  of  Bureau  County,  p.  252. 


barrows. J  SETTLEMENT  AND  DEVELOPMENT.  71 

hired  teams  and  went  overland  to  Mottsville,  Michigan,  on  the  St.  Joseph 
river.  From  this  point  they  proceeded  down  stream  in  canoes  sixty- 
five  miles  to  the  great  bend,  where  a  five  mile  portage  led  to  the  Kan- 
kakee, down  which  they  floated  into  the  Illinois  river.1 

Navigation  was  late  in  developing  upon  Lake  Michigan,  and  not  until 
1834  could  emigrants  count  with  certainty  upon  transportation  to  Chi- 
cago. In  1831  only  three  sailing  vessels  came  to  Chicago.2  The  first 
steamboat  arrived  in  1832.3  From  then  on,  the  number  of  arriving  ves- 
sels increased  rapidly;  in  1833  there  were  4;  in  1834,  176;  in  1835, 
250;  m  L836,  I56.4  In  1840  there  were  forty-eight  steamers  on  the 
upper  lakes,  and  in  1841  six  of  .the  largest  boats  were  regularly  employed 
in  running  from  Buffalo  to  Chicago.5  By  1848  there  were  400  vessels, 
including  over  sixty-four  steamers,  navigating  the  lakes.6  With  the  mul- 
tiplication and  improvement  of  boats,  the  length  and  cost  of  the  trip  to 
Illinois  were  greatly  reduced.7  In  1840  the  distance  from  Chicago  to 
Buffalo  had  been  covered  in  two  days  and  two  nights.8  Cabin  fare  on 
the  better  boats  from  Buffalo  to  Chicago  fell  from  about  $25.00  in  1838,9 
to  $6.00  to  $8.00  in  1852.10  Steerage  fare  was  considerably  less.  It  was 
now  possible,  furthermore,  to  take  household  goods,  farming  implements, 
and  stock  into  the  west  easily  and  cheaply. 

Numbers  of  northern  immigrants. — A  flood  of  settlers  now  poured 
into  the  Illinois  valley  and  the  northern  part  of  the  State  generally.  In 
1845  the  steamboats  alone  carried  97,736  passengers  from  Buffalo  to 
the  west,  of  whom  20,244  were  landed  at  Chicago.11  They  had  been 
carrying  nearly  as  many  for  several  years.  Many  also  went  in  sailing 
vessels.  Buffalo  had  shipped  to  Illinois  in  1843  nearly  seven  million 
pounds  of  merchandise,  and  over  a  million  and  a  quarter  pounds  of 
furniture.12  Chicago  was  the  gateway  to  the  Illinois  valley.  From  a 
'little  mushroom  town"13  in  1833,  and  a  "dirty  village  of  twenty  ham- 
lets"14 in  1834,  it  grew,  to  a  population  of  4,479  in  1840,  and  28,269  in 
1850. 15  The  value  of  its  imports  rose  523  per  cent  in  the  ten  years  fol- 
lowing 1836.16  It  is  not  easy  to  overestimate  the  importance  of  steam 
navigation  on  the  Great  Lakes  in  the  settlement  of  the  counties  with  which 
this  report  is  especially  concerned,  and  northern  Illinois  in  general.  A 
recent  writer  has  declared  that  "the  great  pervading  power  which  influ- 
enced the  settlement  of  northern  Illinois  and  built  up  this  portion  of 


1  Matson:    Reminiscences  of  Bureau  County,  pp.  261-262. 
-  Parker:    Growth  of  Illinois  and  Chicago,  p.  14. 

3  Albach:    Annals  of  the  West,  p.  957;  Blanchard:    The  Northwest  and  Chicago,  p.  423. 
1  Xiles'  Weekly  Register,  V.  51,  p.  274;  Mitchell:    Sketches  of  Illinois,  p.  31;  Blanchard:    The  North- 
west and  Chicago,  p.  423. 

■  Albach:    Annals  of  the  West,  p.  958. 

8  Hall:    The  West;  Its  Commerce  and  Navigation,  p.  33. 

7  Ferris:    The  States  and  Territories  of  the  Great  West,  p.  204. 

8  Pooley:    University  Wisconsin  Bulletin,  No.  220,  p.  75. 

9  Jones:    Illinois  and  the  West,  p.  254. 
10  Curtiss:    Western  Portraiture,  p.  31. 

1 '  Albach:    Annals  of  the  West,  pp.  958-959. 

12  Hall:    The  West;  Its  Commerce  and  Navigation,  p.  35. 

13  Ferris:    The  States  and  Territories  of  the  Great  West,  p.  212. 

14  Jones:    Illinois  and  the  West,  pp.  236-237. 
1  fDe  Bows'  Review,  V.  17,  p.  262. 

18  Idem,  V.  13,  p.  198. 


72 


THE    MIDDLE    ILLINOIS   VALLEY. 


[BULL.   NO.  15 


Fig.  36.    Map  showing  distribution  and  density  of  population  in  Illinois  in  1840. 


BARROW  S.  I 


SETTLEMENT  AND  DEVELOPMENT. 


73 


Fig.  37.    Map  showing  distribution  and  density  of  population  in  Illinois  in  1850. 


74  THE    MIDDLE    ILLINOIS   VALLEY.  lbull.  no.  15 

the  -State  with  astonishing  rapidity  and  which  gave  the  northern  charac- 
ter to  its  population,  was  the  development  of  steam  navigation  upon  the 
lakes."1 

The  influence  of  the  Illinois  valley  upon  the  distribution  of  this 
northern  population  entering  by  way  of  the  lakes  is  shown  by  Figure  36, 
which  represents  the  distribution  of  population  in  Illinois  in  1840.  The 
population  maps  of  1850  and  1860  (Figs.  37  and  38)  are  equally  instruct- 
ive in  this  particular.2 

Northern  Pioneers  Dominate  the  Eegion. 

In  the  middle  Illinois  valley  counties,  from  Tazewell  and  Peoria  to 
Putnam  and  Bureau,  the  southern  and  northern  waves  of  expansion 
already  described  met  and  mingled.  This  was  due  to  geographic  condi- 
tions. The  southerner,  arriving  first,  had  followed  the  timber  bordering 
the  Illinois  river  far  into  the  great  prairie  area.  The  northerner,  fol- 
lowing the  Great  Lakes,  had  been  guided  by  the  Chicago  Outlet  and  the 
upper  Illinois  valley  to  the  same  region. 

In  Tazewell  county  the  great  majority  of  the  early  settlers  were  from 
the  South.  This  was  less  strikingly  true  in  Woodford  county.  In  Mar- 
shall county  the  two  elements  were  more  nearly  balanced,  while  in  Put- 
nam and  Bureau  the  northerners  overwhelmingly  predominated.  A  rude 
stratification  of  the  two  types  of  settlers  resulted  from  the  fact  that  the 
timber  was  confined  to  the  borders  of  the  streams,  while  the  inter-stream 
areas,  save  for  occasional  island-like  groves,  were  prairies  (Fig.  35). 
Tongues  of  southern  influence  extended  north  along  the  timber  strips, 
while  New  Englanders  and  New  Yorkers,  upon  solving  the  problem  of 
the  smaller  prairies,  pushed  south  between  them.  Delavan,  in  southern 
Tazewell  county,  was  an  interesting  New  England  prairie  colony  of  this 
type.  Many  of  the  northeastern  immigrants  settled  in  towns  on  coming 
to  Illinois,  and  contributed  to  their  rapid  growth.3  Thus  Peoria,  though 
all  save  one  of  the  first  permanent  American  settlers  were  southerners,4 
soon  took  on  the  characteristics  of  a  New  York  or  New  England  town. 
Of  the  642  voters  in  Peoria  in  1845,  402  were  natives  of  states  north  of 
the  Ohio  and  Potomac  rivers,  and  52  of  states  south  of  those 
rivers ;  only  2  were  born  in  Illinois,  and  2  west  of  the  Mississippi 
river,  while  184  were  natives  of  Europe.5  The  character  of  the  Illinois 
valley  as  a  great  highway  of  travel  and  migration  is  reflected  in  the  fact 
that  these  voters  represented  twenty-one  states  and  ten  European  coun- 
tries. Five  years  later  a  writer  said  of  Peoria,  "the  population  of  our 
city,  as  the  western  phrase  is,  'is  mightily  mixed/  from  forty- three  states 
and  kingdoms."6  Half  the  states  in  the  Union  were  represented  in 
Woodford  county.7 

1  Pooley:    University  Wisconsin  Bulletin,  No.  220,  p.  287. 

2  The  maps  of  1870  and  1880,  plates  10  and  11,  Statistical  Atlas,  Twelfth  Census,  show  the  continued 
influence  of  the  Illinois  valley  upon  the  distribution  of  population. 

3  Moses:    Illinois— Historical  and  Statistical,  V.  I.,  p.  386. 

4  Peoria  was  settled  in  April,  1819,  by  a  party  of  seven  Americans  from  Shoal  Creek,  Clinton  County, 
Illinois.  Of  the  founders,  two  were  Kentuckians,  two  Virginians,  and  one  from  New  York.  Two  went 
overland  to  Peoria  with  pack  horses,  the  others  in  a  keel  boat  up  the  Mississippi  and  Illinois  rivers .  Drown: 
Record  and  Historical  View  of  Peoria,  p.  81. 

5  Ballance:    History  of  Peoria,  pp.  201-202. 

6  Drown:    Record  and  HistoricalView  of  Peoria,  p.  115. 

7  History  of  Woodford  County,  p.  224. 


BAUKOWS.J  SETTL'MKNP    AND    DEVELOPMENT. 


75 


6  to  18  to  tho  sq.  mile 
18  to  45  to  the  sq.  mile 
45  to  90  to  the  sq.  mile 


Fig.  38.    Map  showing  distribution  and  density  of  population  in  Illinois  in  1860. 


76  THE    MIDDLE    ILLINOIS   VALLEY.  [bull.  no.  15 

The  struggle  between  the  northern  and  southern  settlers  for  domi- 
nance in  the  middle  Illinois  valley  was  only  a  phase  of  a  larger  contest 
involving  all  middle  and  northern  Illinois.  Largely  because  of  the 
development  of  navigation  upon  the  lakes,  numbers  were  on  the  side  of 
the  northerners.  The  New  Englanders  and  New  Yorkers,  furthermore, 
were,  as  a  rale,  possessed  of  greater  means,  and  characterized  by  greater 
energy,  thrift,  and  ingenuity,  traits  induced  in  no  small  degree  through 
generations  by  the  geographic  conditions  of  Xew  England.1  They  accord- 
ingly presently  impressed  the  stamp  of  northern  institutions  and  ideals 
upon  the  debatable  territory. 

Distribution  of  Early  Population. 

The  census  maps  (Figs.  33,  3-1,  36,  37,  38)  give  only  a  general  idea 
of  the  distribution  of  population,  since  they  arc  based  on  the  county  as 
a  unit.  Attention  is  now  directed  to  the  several  factors  which  deter- 
mined the  immediate  distribution  of  the  early  settlers. 

Navigable  streams. — One  of  the  greatest  problems  facing  the  pioneer 
was  the  transportation  of  his  produce  to  a  market.  For  years  there  were 
few  roads  and  these  unimproved,  so  that  the  black  soils  of  the  upland 
prairie  became  a  well  nigh  impassable  sea  of  mud  when  saturated.2  This 
was  invariably  the  case  in  spring,  when  travelers  might  confidently 
"expect  to  be  obliged  to  wade  through  mire  and  water — ankle  deep, 
knee  deep,  and  peradventure  deeper  than  that."3  The  Illinois  river 
was  tlie  only  connection  with  the  outside  world  until  the  appearance  of 
the  railroad,  unless  the  journey  were  made  by  wagon  to  Chicago.  In 
general,  therefore,  the  earlier  settlers  located  near  the  Illinois  or  one 
of  its  navigable  tributaries.  A  number  of  its  tributaries,  now  totally 
unfit  for  navigation,  could  be  used  by  Hat  boats  and  canoes  before  the 
more  or  less  complete  removal  of  the  timber  which  bordered  them.  This 
was  true,  for  example,  of  Crow  creek,  opposite  Chillicothe.4 

Bottom  lands  and  terraces. — While  it  was  highly  desirable  to  be  within 
easy  hauling  distance  of  the  Illinois  river,  settlers  commonly  avoided  its 
heavily  wooded  and  unhealthful  flood-plain.  Fever  and  ague  were  espe- 
cially to  be  dreaded  on  the  lower  portions  of  the  flood-plain  near  the 
bluffs,6  and  settlers  who  chose  the  bottom  lands  were  advised  to  build 
their  homes  on  the  highest  part  of  the  natural  levee,  at  the  edge  of  the 
stream.6      Here    woodcutters    occasionally    established    themselves,    but 


1  It  was  feared  by  some  that  the  New  Englander  would  lose  these  characteristics  in  the  Illinois  valley. 
A  correspondent  of  the  New  York  Observer  wrote,  in  1840,  that  "the  two  greatest  objections  to  the  west, 
in  my  judgment,  are,  that  the  land  is  too  cheap  and  too  productive.  Taking  human  nature  as  it  is, 
however  industrious  and  virtuous  emigrants  from  the  scanty  and  rugged  soils  of  New  England  may  be, 
they  must  in  general,  without  a  miracle  to  prevent  it,  degenerate  when  planted  down  in  the  fat  valleys 
of  the  Scioto,  the  Wabash,  or  the  Illinois.  It  is  a  law  of  our  lapsed  natures,  not  to  work  if  we  can  help  it." 
Western  Farmer,  V.  I.,  p.  147. 

The  character  of  the  settlers  was,  indeed,  somewhat  modified  by  the  new  environment.  "Even  the 
quiet,  conservative  men  from  the  East  became  rough,  independent  and  simple  in  habits,  careless  of  dress, 
frank  in  speech,  friendly  and  generous  to  all  whom  they  could  trust."  Poolev:  University  Wisconsin 
Bulletin,  No.  220,  p.  269. 

2  Bradsby:    History  of  Bureau  County,  pp.  401-402. 

3  Illinois  Monthly  Magazine,  V.  2,  p.  49. 

4  Beck:    Gazetteer  of  Illinois  and  Missouri,  p.  103. 

E  Idem,  p.  18;  and  Dana:    Geographical  Sketches  on  the  Western  Country,  pp.  141-142. 
6  Peck:    Guide  for  Emigrants,  p.  179. 


barrows.]  SETTLEMENT  AND  DEVELOPMENT.  77 

rarely,  if  ever,  escaped  the  flood-plain  diseases.1  The  bottoms  of  tribu- 
tary valleys  were  often  more  desirable.  Thus  the  combined  invitation 
of  fertile  soi]  and  navigable  waterway  Led  to  the  occupation  of  the  lower 
Crow  creek  valley  as  early  as  L830,  and  a  considerable  settlement  soon 
developed.2 

The  terraces  of  the  Illinois  river  were  very  much  more  desirable  than 
the  flood-plain,  and  were  occupied  early.  For  several  }^ears  the  popula- 
tion of  Peoria  county  was  largely  confined  to  the  Peoria  and  Chillicothe 
terraces.3  The  Henry  terrace  was  one  of  the  first  parts  of  Marshall 
county  settled.4 

Woodland  and  prairie. — The  prairies  of  northern  Illinois  aroused  the 
wonder  of  all  early  travelers.  They  were  attributed  to  fires;  to  hurri- 
canes which  had  blown  down  the  timber,  leaving  it  to  be  readily  con- 
sumed by  fire  when  dry ;  to  the  former  presence  of  lakes ;  and  to  other 
causes.6  The  upland  prairies  are  now  generally  thought  to  have  been 
due  to  the  undrained  condition  of  the  flatfish  inter-stream  areas,  which 
practically  prevented  the  growth  of  the  species  of  trees  adapted  to  the 
latitude.  Occasional  protracted  droughts  and  fires,  furthermore,  doubt- 
less served  to  kill  any  young  trees  that  had  succeeded  in  establishing 
themselves.  Summer  droughts  were  especially  effective  in  killing  seed- 
lings on  the  sandy  terraces  of  the  Illinois  valley,  where  they  were  prob- 
ably a  chief  cause  of  the  general  absence  of  trees.  Quite  as  much  as  any 
other  factor,  the  distribution  of  woodland  and  prairie  affected  the  settle- 
ment and  early  life  of  the  region  under  discussion. 

The  prairies  were  generally  shunned  by  the  first  comers  for  several 
reasons:  (1)  Absence  of  trees  was  thought  to  mean  that  they  were 
infertile.  (2)  Timber  was  imperatively  needed  for  buildings,  fences,  and. 
fuel.6  (3)  They  did  not  afford  running  water  for  stock  or  mills,  while 
the  lack  of  fuel  left  steam  mills  out  of  the  question.7  (4)  There  was 
no  protection  from  the  bitter  winds  of  winter,  which,  above  all  else, 
made  that  season  disagreeable.8  Men  and  cattle  had  even  been  known 
to  perish  in  storms  on  the  open  prairie.9  (5)  To  the  farmer,  the 
prairies  with  their  tough  sod  and  matted  roots  constituted  a  new  and 
altogether  unknown  problem.10  Men  were  for  a  time  helpless  before  this 


j:    The  Far  West,  V.  I.,  p.  98;  Jones:     Illinois  and  the  West,  p.  171. 
-  Ford:    History  of  Putnam  and  Marshall  Counties,  p.  130. 

3  History  of  Peoria  County,  p.  285. 

4  Ford:    History  of  Putnam  and  Marshall  Counties,  pp.  136-137. 

5  Peck:     Guide  for  Emigrants,  pp.  111-116. 

a  The  great  demand  for  timber  in  central  and  northern  Illinois  was  amusingly  illustrated  in  the 
middle  thirties  in  the  lower  part  of  the  peninsula  between  the  Illinois  and  Mississippi  rivers.  This  was 
a  hilly,  wooded  districl  (  Fig.  35)  where  lumbering  was  an  important  early  industry.  Lumbermen  stole 
timber  in  large  quantities  from  the  lands  of  non-resident  owners,  to  whom  it  had  been  given  for  services 
in  the  War  of  1812.  The  latter  brought  suits  for  damage,  but  the  witnesses  and  jurors  being  all  on  the 
other  side,  nothing  was  accomplished.  Then  ministers  of  the  gospel  were  sent  out  to  preach  the  sin  of 
stealing  timber.  Each  preacher  had  a  regular  circuit,  and  was  paid  by  the  sermon.  It  is  said,  however, 
that  the  non-resident  owners  succeeded  no  better  in  protecting  their  timber  by  the  gospel  than  they  had 
by  law.     Ford:     History  of  Illinois,  p.  171. 

7  History  of  Woodford  County,  p.  386. 

H  Peyton:    Statistical  View  of  Illinois,  p.  11. 

"  Hoffman:     A  Winter  in  the  Far  West,  V.  2,  p.  5."). 

1,1  Albach:     Annals  of  the  West,  p.  993;  Western  Monthly  Magazine,  V.  5,  p.  341;  Matson:     Reminis- 
cences of  Bureau  County,  pp.  397-398. 


78  THE    MIDDLE    ILLINOIS    VALLEY.  [BULL.  NO.  15 

problem,  and  the  prairies  were  generally  regarded  as  "uninhabitable  for 
an  age."  As  late  as  1836  the  few  who  thought  the  prairies  capable  of 
occupation  were  regarded  as  crazy  visionaries.1 

The  combined  influence  of  streams  and  timber  withheld  large  portions 
of  the  middle  Illinois  valley  counties  from  settlement  for  many  years, 
for  prairie  land  predominated  in  Tazewell  county,2  about  half  of  Peoria 
county  was  treeless,3  and  nine-tenths  of  Bureau  county  was  originally 
without  timber.4  Figure  35  shows  prairie  land  somewhat  in  excess 
of  woodland  in  Putnam  and  Marshall  counties,  and  greatly  so  in  Wood- 
ford county. 

A  good  idea  of  the  general  effect  of  the  distribution  of  timber  and 
prairie  upon  settlement  (referred  to  in  the  case  of  the  southern  pioneers 
on  page  66)  may  be  obtained  by  comparing  Figure  35  with  Figures 
34,  36,  and  37.  The  influence  of  the  Grand  Prairie  and  of  the  great 
prairies  north  of  the  Illinois  river  is  especially  well  shown  on  the  popu- 
lation map  for  1840,  and  is  clearly  evident  ten  years  later.  It  will,  of 
course,  be  understood  that  the  settled  area  had  been  occupied  not  simply 
because  of  the  timber,  but  also  because  of  the  streams,  which,  as  already 
pointed  out,  constituted  at  first  the  only,  and  until  after  1850,  the  best 
highways  leading  to  the  rest  of  the  country. 

Figure  39  shows  the  original  distribution  of  woodland  and  prairie  in 
Bureau  county.  In  1831  the  settlers  (sixteen  families)  were  almost  all 
in  the  edge  of  the  Big  Bureau  timber.5  Five  years  later  the  western 
tier  of  townships  was  without  a  single  inhabitant,  and  the  tier 
next  east  had  only  five  families,  all  in  Concord  township.  There 
was  no  one  living  in  Wheatland  or  Westfield  townships,  while  Walnut, 
Ohio,  and  Milo  townships  each  contained  one  family.6  The  settlers  still 
reared  their  log  cabins  almost  entirely  in  the  edge  of  the  timber  by  the 
side  of  springs ;  large  prairie  tracts  had  not  even  been  surveyed.  Indeed, 
Ohio  and  Walnut  townships,  although  among  the  most  fertile  in  the 
county,  were  mostly  vacant  until  after  1850.7  The  same  distribution  of 
early  population  obtained  in  the  other  counties  of  the  middle  valley  and 
throughout  the  northern  part  of  the  State.8  The  Union  Grove  area  near 
Florid,  in  Putnam  county,  was  settled  in  1829,  and  increased  in  popu- 
lation faster  than  any  other  part  of  the  county.9  Most  of  the  earliest 
settlers  to  the  east  of  Lacon  occupied  the  edge  of  the  woods  of  Sandy 
and  Crow  creeks  and  the  Illinois  bluffs,  in  preference  to  Pound  Prairie, 
which  lay  between.10  Walnut  Grove  and  the  timbered  portions  of  Spring 
Bay  township,  in  Woodford  county,  were  settled  long  before  any  one 


1  In  1836  Alby  Smith,  living  near  Princeton,  became  a  candidate  for  the  legislature.  He  had  made 
a  farm  on  the  prairie;  although  locations  in  the  edge  of  the  timber  were  still  available,  and  had  expressed 
the  opinion  that  ultimately  all  the  prairies  would  be  cultivated  and  crossed  by  railroads.  The  people 
of  the  district  decided  that  a  man  holding  such  wild,  visionary  ideas  was  not  fit  to  represent  them.  He 
was  accordingly  dropped,  and  Thos.  Atwater  of  Hennepin  elected.    Matson:    Reminiscences,  p.  399. 

-  Illinois  in  1837,  p.  106;  Peck:     Guide  for  Emigrants,  p.  302. 

3  Peck,  p.  95;  History  of  Peoria  County,  p.  293. 

4  Matson:    Reminiscences  of  Bureau  Count v,  p.  23. 
6  Idem,  p.  269. 

6  Bradsby:    History  of  Bureau  County,  p.  171. 

7  Matson:    Reminiscences  of  Bureau  County,  p.  391;  Bradsby:    History  of  Bureau  County;  p.  179. 
R  Davidson  and  Stuve:    History  of  Illinois,  p.  346. 

9  Ford:    History  of  Putnam  and  Marshall  Counties,  p.  97. 
10  Idem,  p.  127. 


BARROWS.] 


SETTLEMENT  AND  DEVELOPMENT. 


79 


ventured  out  upon  the  prairie.1  A  partial  exception  to  the  control  of 
the  timber  appears  in  the  case  of. the  Illinois  terraces.  As  indicated 
above  (p.  77)  these  were  settled  early,  and  yet  all  appear  to  have 
been  prairies.2  Timber  could  be  obtained  easily,  however,  from  the 
adjacent  flood-plain  or  bluffs,  and  the  other  advantages  of  the  terraces 


Fig.  39.    Map  showing  original  distribution  of  woodland  and  prairie  in  Bureau  county.    (Taxpayers 

and  Voters  of  Bureau  county.) 

were  marked.  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  settlers  were  advised  to 
build  their  homes  on  the  south  or  southwest  edge  of  the  timber,  because 
the  summer  winds  were  prevailingly  from  the  southwest  and  west,  while 
the  timber  afforded  protection  against  the  cold  north  winds  of  winter.3 


The  Conquest  of  the  Small  Prairies. 

With  the  growth  of  population  all  the  woodland  was  presently  occu- 
pied, and  new  comers  were  crowded  out  upon  the  prairie.  From  the 
first,  the  enterprising  Xew  England  farmer  had  used  the  timber  as  a 
base  for  the  conquest  of  the  prairie.  He  commonly  built  his  cabin  in 
the  margin  of  the  timber  near  a  spring  and  enclosed  some  of  the  ad- 


1  History  of  Woodford  County,  p.  224. 

3  History  of  Peoria  County,  p.  285;  Ford:    History  of  Putnam  and  Marshall  Counties,  pp.  136-137 
Ellsworth:    Records  of  the  Olden  Time,  p.  156. 
3  Peck:    Guide  for  Emigrants,  p.  179. 


80  THE   MIDDLE   ILLINOIS   VALLEY.  [bull.  no.  15 

joining  prairie  land.  Tins  gave  a  supply  of  logs  for  building  and  fuel, 
allowed  stock  to  take  refuge  from  flies  or  storms  in  the  woods,  and  per- 
mitted the  planting  of  crops  without  waiting  to  clear  the  land.  In  con- 
sequence of  this  method  of  settlement,  the  small  prairies  were  presently 
encircled  with  a  belt  of  farms.1  Later,  another  ring  was  established 
inside  the  first,  and  farther  out  on  the  prairie,  and  by  a  continuation  of 
the  process  the  entire  prairie  was  finally  occupied.2  In  the  course  of  this 
process  the  pioneer  learned  how  to  break  the  prairie  sod,  and  discovered 
the  great  fertility  of  its  black  clay  loams.  It  was  found  easier  to  haul 
fuel  and  rails  a  few  miles,  than  to  clear  forest  land,  and  prairie  farmers 
often  purchased  a  small  piece  of  land  for  timber  in  the  nearest  woods.3 
It  was  discovered  that  trees  grew  readily  from  seed  on  the  prairie. 
Locally,  coal  became  a  cheap  fuel.4 

In  general  the  smallest  prairies  having  the  best  water  supply,  and 
bordered  by  the  heaviest  timber,  were  first  occupied.  Hoskins  Prairie, 
near  Bureau,5  Ox  Bow  Prairie,  east  of  Henry,6  and  Pound  Prairie,  east 
of  Lacon,7  are  notable  examples.  It  is  said  that  "in  early  days  Ox  Bow 
Prairie  was  as  well  known  as  Galena,  Chicago,  Peoria  or  any  point  in  the 
State."8  The  larger  prairies,  away  from  the  stream  courses,  remained 
in  general  unoccupied  until  after  1850,  for  although  the  settler  had 
learned  how  to  grow  large  crops  upon  them,  he  could  not  profitably 
transport  the  produce  to  a  distant  market.  They  were  settled  rapidly, 
however,  upon  the  development  of  railroads  in  the  decade  1850-1860 
(p.  107). 

Conditions  of  Pioneer  Life. 

Early  privations. — Isolation  subjected  the  earliest  pioneers  of  the 
valley  to  many  privations,  and  reduced  their  household  and  personal 
effects  to  the  absolute  necessities  of  life.  The  homes  were  rough  log 
houses  (Plate  16)  with  puncheon  floors  and  clapboard  doors;  often  there 
was  not  a  nail  or  a  particle  of  iron  about  them.9  Indeed,  many  built 
their  first  cabins  of  saplings,  with  roofs  of  bark  and  clay  chimneys, 
These  homes  usually  contained  no  furniture  save  that  which  was  hewn 
out  with  an  axe.  Homespun  garments  were  the  rule.  Wild  game  sup- 
plied meat,  and  many  families  went  weeks  at  a  time  without  bread. 
Corn  was  pounded  on  rude  hominy  blocks.10 

Leading  products. — Corn  promptly  became  the  staple  crop.11  It  was 
easy  to  cultivate,  and  peculiarly  fitted  to  the  prairie  soil,  returning  a 
large  yield.     The  harvest  was  long,  an  important  consideration  on  the 


1  Illinois  in  1837,  p.  14. 

2  Ferris:    The  States  and  Territories  of  the  Great  West,  pp.  209-210. 

3  Hall:    Statistics  of  the  West  (1836),  p.  103. 

4  Beck:    Gazetteer  of  Illinois  and  Missouri,  p.  18;  Illinois  in  1837, p.  96;  De  Bows'  Review, V.  19,  p.  410 
•"■  Matson:     Reminiscences  of  Bureau  County,  pp.  267-268. 

,;  Ellsworth:     Records  of  the  Olden  Time,  pp.  246-247. 

7  Ford:    History  of  Putnam  and  Marshall  Counties,  p.  127. 

8  Ellsworth:     Records  of  the  Olden  Time,  p.  246. 

9  Peck:     Guide  for  Emigrants,  p.  181. 

10  History  of  Woodford  County,  p.  301:  Matson:    Reminiscences  of  Bureau  County,  pp.  237-238. 

11  Beck:    Gazetteer  of  Illinois  and  Missouri,  p.  38;  Peck:     Guide  for  Emigrants,  pp.  147, 151, 155. 


STATE   GEOLOGICAL   SURVEY. 


Bull.  No.  15,  Plate  16. 


Type  of  early  home  in  Illinois  valley. 


BARROWS.]  SETTLEMENT  AND  DEVELOPMENT.  81 

frontier  whore  labor  was  scarce.  It  was  easily  stored,  easily  prepared 
for  food,  and  possessed  extremely  nourishing  properties  for  animals  and 
man.     Wheat  and  other  crops  were  grown  to  less  extent. 

The  raising  of  swine  and  cattle  became  important  at  an  early  date. 
The  hogs  obtained  their  own  food  in  the  oak  timber  which  lined  the 
Illinois  and  some  of  its  tributaries,1  while  much  of  this  broken  bluff 
land  was  soon  thought  to  have  a  surface  too  rough  and  a  soil  too  thin  for 
successful  cultivation.2  Furthermore,  it  was  soon  seen  that  "it  was 
much  easier  to  have  the  extra  produce  in  the  form  of  flesh,  which  would 
walk  to  market,  than  to  have  it  in  grain  which  had  to  be  hauled."3 
Stock  was  driven  in  considerable  quantity  to  Chicago  (especially  from 
Bureau  county)  and  to  Galena,  which  was  the  supply  depot  for  the  im- 
portant lead  mining  area  in  the  northwestern  corner  of  the  State.  As 
an  auxiliary  industry,  cheese  was  extensively  made  along  the  Illinois 
river,  and  found  ready  sale  in  St.  Louis.4 

Fences. — The  development  of  stock  raising  brought  the  necessity  of 
fences  as  protection  for  crops,  and  for  years  this  need  constituted  one 
of  the  more  serious  problems  of  the  prairies.  Rails  were  used  near  the 
timber  and  were  usually  laid  straight  rather  than  in  the  form  of  the 
Virginia  "worm  fence,"  thereby  reducing  greatly  the  number  req  tired.5 
The  cost  of  rails  rapidly  increased  with  the  distance  from  the  woods,  and 
they  were  generally  abandoned  in  Bureau  county  by  1850.6  Boards  were 
sometimes  hauled  from  Chicago,  but  this  likewise  involved  much  expense 
as  well  as  time.  About  1850  the  difficulty  was  largely  solved  by  the  in- 
troduction of  wire  fencing  and  the  osage  orange  hedge.7 

Mills. — 'Saw  mills  and  grist  mills  constituted  a  pressing  need  of  the 
settlers,  and  were  among  the  first  improvements  made.  As  already  in- 
dicated, lumber  hauled  from  Chicago  was  extremely  expensive,  and  yet 
lumber  was  in  great  demand  for  flooring,  doors,  and  other  uses.  It  was 
also  a  great  inconvenience  and  hardship  to  be  forced  to  pound  grain  on  a 
hominy  block,  or  to  grind  it  in  hand  mills.  For  a  time  the  nearest 
flouring  mill  to  Putnam  county  was  on  Salt  creek  in  Sangamon  county, 
eighty  miles  away.8  The  first  flouring  mill  in  Putnam  county  was  es- 
tablished in  1828,  near  Florid.9  In  1830  a  flouring  mill  was  built  on 
Kickapoo  creek,  three  miles  west  of  Peoria,  which  did  a  thriving  business 
for  a  time,  but  was  undermined  and  carried  away  by  the  stream.10  Seven 
years  later  a  second  mill  was  started  on  the  same  stream,  the  machinery 
having  been  brought  by  wagon  from  Albany,  New  York.11  A  saw  mill 
was  erected  upon  Kickapoo  in  18-35. 12     The  first  grist  mill  in  Bureau 


1  Ellsworth:     Records  of  the  Olden  Time,  p.  223. 

2  Illinois  in  1837,  p.  20. 

3  Bradsby:    History  of  Bureau  County,  p.  380. 

4  Peck:    Guide  for  Emigrants,  p.  170. 

6  Ferris:    The  States  and  Territories  of  the  Great  West,  p.  209. 

6  Matson:     Reminiscences  of  Bureau  County,  p.  400. 

7  Hunt's  Merchants'  Magazine,  V.  32,  p.  62;  Peyton:    Statistical  View  of  Illinois,  p.  17. 
s  Ellsworth:     Records  of  the  Olden  Time,  p.  176. 

9  Idem. 

10  Drown:     Record  and  Historical  View  of  Peoria,  pp.  89-90;  Ballance:    History  of  Peoria,  p.  1  7. 

11  History  of  Peoria  County,  p.  598. 
"  Idem. 


-6  G 


82  THE   MIDDLE   ILLINOIS   VALLEY.  [bull.  no.  15 

county  was  built  on  East  Bureau  creek,  in  1830;  the  machinery  was 
largely  of  wood,  and  the  mill  stones  were  dressed  from  glacial  bowlders 
taken  from  the  neighboring  bluffs.1  The  following  year  the  first  saw 
mill  of  the  county  was  erected  on  Big  Bureau  creek.2  Many  other  mills 
were  later  built  on  these  and  other  streams,  although  even  in  some  of 
the  larger  ones,  there  was  an  adequate  water  supply  for  only  two-thirds 
of  the  year.3  Altogether  some  forty-seven  water  mills  (31  saw  mills  and 
16  flouring  mills)  were  erected  on  the  creeks  of  Bureau  county,  thirty  of 
them  on  Big  Bureau  creek.4  The  great  number  of  mills  established,  in 
spite  of  the  relatively  insignificant  water  power  available,  reflects  their 
importance  in  the  early  economic  life  of  the  region.  Largely  because 
of  the  scarcity  of  fuel,  few  steam  mills  were  established  in  the  Illinois 
valley  in  the  early  days.  IsTone  had  been  built  in  1831,5  but  one  was 
built  in  Lacon  in  1836,6  and  two  started  up  in  Peoria  by  1837. 7 

Prices  and  markets. — Another  very  serious  problem  to  the  pioneer  was 
getting  his  surplus  produce  to  a  market.  At  first  there  were  no  local 
markets,  and  steamboat  navigation  did  not  develop  on  the  Illinois  river 
until  the  thirties.  The  farmers  were  therefore  forced  to  take  their 
corn,  wheat,  hams,  bacon,  etc.,  on  flat  boats  down  the  river  to  St.  Louis, 
and  often  to  New  Orleans.8  Those  who  got  down  the  river  early  might 
get  a  fair  price  for  their  produce,  but  the  late  comer  was  likely  to  find 
the  market  overstocked,  and  have  to  dispose  of  his  cargo  for  little  or 
nothing.  The  return  trip  from  New  Orleans  with  merchandise  against 
the  swift  current  of  the  Mississippi  was  a  slow  and  most  laborious  pro- 
cess, and  the  farmer  often  preferred  to  sell  for  cash  and  walk  home. 
Similar  unsatisfactory  conditions  prevailed  for  years  throughout  the 
country  dependent  upon  the  western  rivers.9  As  population  increased, 
farms  were  taken  up  farther  and  farther  back  from  the  Illinois,  and 
roads  were  opened  to  the  river,10  where  at  favorable  places  store  houses 
and  landings  were  established,  usually  by  men  from  the  East.  This 
marked  the  appearance  of  the  local  merchant  and  the  beginning  of  the 
river  towns.  Money  was  scarce  and  payment  for  produce  was  usually 
made  in  goods. 

Settlers  in  Bureau  county,  and  even  in  Woodford  county,  began  as 
early  as  1838  to  haul  their  grain  to  Chicago,  bringing  back  the  much 
needed  lumber  and  salt.11  Each  season  during  the  following  decade  many 
farmers  from  the  vicinity  of  Princeton  started  across  the  prairie  after 
harvest  when  the  roads  were  best,  with  thirty-five  or  forty  bushels  of 
grain  to  a  load  on  the  ten  day  trip  of  over  one  hundred  miles  to  the 


1  Matson:    Reminiscences  of  Bureau  County,  pp.  278-279. 

2  Idem,  p.  280. 

3  Illinois  in  1837,  p.  95. 

*  Matson:    Reminiscences  of  Bureau  County,  pp.  404-405. 

5  Peck:    Guide  for  Emigrants,  p.  194. 

6  Ford:    History  of  Putnam  and  Marshall  Counties,  p.  107. 

7  Illinois  in  1837,  p.  95. 

5  Atlantic  Monthly,  May,  1861,  p.  581.  ,-„-«_« 

s  Flint:    Recollections  of  the  last  Ten  Years  in  the  Mississippi  Valley,  p.  247;  Walker:    The  Missis- 
sippi Valley,  p.  250.  , 

10  The  importance  of  the  river  in  the  development  of  the  region  is  reflected  in  the  fact  that  even  today 
upon  the  uplands  the  east  and  west  river  roads  are  often  better  than  those  which  run  north  and  south 

11  Matson:    Reminiscences  of  Bureau  County,  p.  400;  Bradsby:    History  of  Bureau  County,  p.  162; 
Bailey:    Illinois  State  Gazetteer,  p.  57;  History  of  Woodford  County,  p.  396. 


barrows]  SETTLEMENT  AND  DEVELOPMENT.  83 

lake.1  The  wagon  trade  with  the  interior  was  an  important  factor  in 
the  early  growth  of  Chicago.  In  a  single  day  in  1836  one  hundred 
twenty-seven  wagons  were  counted  in  its  streets,  loaded  with  merchandise 
for  the  country.2  The  first  shipment  of  grain  (78  bushels)  was  made 
from  Chicago  in  1838.  In  1839,  3,672  bushels  were  shipped;  in  1840, 
10,000  bushels;  in  1841,  40,000  bushels;  in  1842,  586,907  bushels;  and 
in  1847,  when  Chicago  was  still  connected  with  the  interior  only  by 
wagon  roads,  2,243,201  bushels.3 

The  distance  of  the  middle  Illinois  valley  from  large  markets  both 
to  the  west  and  the  east,  together  with  the  cost  of  land  transportation, 
meant  high  prices  for  merchandise  and  low  prices  for  produce.  Wheat 
often  brought  only  25  to  37%  cents  a  bushel,  and  sometimes  less,  when 
delivered  at  Chicago.4  Nevertheless,  produce  appears  to  have  been  gen- 
erally higher  and  merchandise  lower  in  Chicago  than  at  St.  Louis.  This 
was  probably  due  to  the  superior  connection  of  Chicago  with  the  East 
by  way  of  the  Great  Lakes  and  the  Erie  canal,  as  against  the  eastern 
connections  of  St.  Louis  through  Pittsburg  or  New  Orleans  by  rivers 
whose  navigation  was  uncertain.  These  differences  undoubtedly  influ- 
enced the  development  of  the  Chicago  wagon  trade.  The  farmer  trad- 
ing with  Chicago  did  not  actually  realize  the  prices  indicated,  however, 
for  he  had  to  subtract  the  expense  of  the  long  trip  to  the  lake  and 
the  value  of  the  time  of  team  and  driver.  For  the  most  part,  the 
counties  under  discussion  continued  to  be  dependent  on  the  Illinois  river 
and  St.  Louis,  until  the  opening  of  the  Illinois  and  Michigan  canal  in 
1848.  The  difficulty  of  •  transporting  products  to  a  satisfactory  market 
was  general  in  Illinois,  and  had  created  a  strong  demand  for  internal 
improvements.5 

Eiver  Towns  and  Trade. 

Physiographic  conditions  determine  town  sites. — The  rise  of  the  river 
towns  and  the  development  of  steamboat  navigation  went  hand  in  hand. 
Both  the  nature  of  the  first  demand  for  river  towns  and  the  conditions 
which  determined  the  location  of  the  more  important  ones,  have  been 
briefly  referred  to  in  preceding  pages.  A  landing,  a  warehouse  for  grain, 
a  general  store,  a  blacksmith  shop,  one  or  all  of  them,  were  established 
at  points  convenient  to  the  back  country  and  accessible  from  the  river. 
This  simple  beginning  became  the  center  of  a  cluster  of  houses  and  the 
nucleus  of  a  town.  Every  important  river  town  in  the  area  is  situated 
upon  the  edge  of  a  terrace  against  which  the  river  swings,  and  every 
such  terrace  has  a  town.  It  will  be  remembered  that  the  presence  of 
the  stream  on  the  terrace  side  of  its  flood-plain  is  in  every  case  brought 
about  by  the  deposits  of  a  considerable  tributary  opposite,  the  size  of 


1  The  route  from  Princeton  naturally  led  straight  across  the  prairie  to  Chicago,  diagonally  across 
sections  of  land.  As  the  intervening  area  settled  up,  however,  the  land  holders  fenced  the  road  out,  in- 
creasing its  length.  The  Bureau  county  people  interested  in  the  Chicago  wagon  trade  regarded  as  serious 
any  increase  in  the  already  long  trip,  and  petitioned  the  legislature  for  a  straight  road .  The  petition  met 
w  th  approval,  and  the  Princeton  and  Chicago  state  road  was  legalized.  Matson:  Reminiscences  of 
Bureau  County,  p.  346;  Bradsby:    History  of  Bureau  County,  p.  162. 

8  Mitchell:     Sketches  of  Illinois,  p.  31. 

3  De  Bow's  Review,  Second  Series,  V.  4,  p.  115. 

4  History  of  Woodford  County,  p.  396;  Bradsby:    History  of  Bureau  County,  p.  162. 

■  Niles'  Register,  Sept.  12,  1835;  De  Bow's  Review,  V.  19,  pp.  681-682;  Walker:  The  Mississippi 
Valley,  p.  258. 


84  THE   MIDDLE   ILLINOIS  VALLEY.  [bull.  no.  15> 

this  tributary,  in  turn,  being  partly  due  to  the  fact  that  there  was  no 
terrace  on  its  side  of  the  valley.  Such  terrace  sites  were  high  enough  to 
be  healthful  and  safe  from  floods,  but  not  so  high  as  to  make  loading  and 
unloading  from  boats  difficult. 

Short  lived  river  towns. — At  least  two  river  towns  were  founded  with- 
in the  area  of  the  report,  whose  sites  are  now  vacant.  Webster  was 
founded  in  183G  some  two  miles  north  of  Henry.  By  the  autumn  of 
1837  it  contained  a  population  of  over  one  hundred,  and  boasted  both 
a  saw  mill  and  grist  mill,  in  addition  to  a  grocery  and  a  blacksmith  shop. 
In  1838,  the  location  proved  to  be  very  unhealthful,  and  the  inhabitants 
began  to  leave.  The  town  was  entirely  abandoned  by  1842,  and  the 
houses  were  gradually  removed  or  destroyed.1  West  Hennepin  was  laid 
out  in  1836  on  the  Illinois  bottoms  opposite  Hennepin.  For  a  few  years 
it  carried  on  a  considerable  river  trade  in  pork  and  grain,  but'  being  sub- 
ject to  inundation  it  soon  ceased  to  grow,  and  was  destroyed  by  the  de- 
cline of  river  commerce  and  by  the  railroads.2 

River  towns  precede  inland  towns. — With  very  few  exceptions  the 
inland  towns  of  the  area  were  founded  later  and  grew  less  rapidly  than 
the  river  towns.  This  was  because  the  former,  until  the  advent  of  the 
railroads,  afforded  no  market.  As  late  as  1850  the  aggregate  population 
of  the  inland  towns  of  the  six  counties  was  less  than  3,000,  only  31  per 
cent  of  that  of  the  towns  located  on  the  river.3  More  than  a  dozen  of 
the  present  inland  towns  were  not  listed  in  the  census  returns. 

Early  history  of  Peoria. — The  value  of  the  site  of  Peoria  was  evident 
to  the  Indians.  The  roomy  terrace  at  the  lower  end  of  a  lake  abounding 
in  fish,  the  springs,  the  narrows  in  the  river,  where  it  was  easily  crossed, 
and  the  fertility  of  the  surrounding  land,  appear  to  have  formed  an 
attractive  combination.  At  different  times  important  villages  were  es- 
tablished here  and  in  the  neighborhood  by  Indians  whose  presence  is 
recorded  by  the  name  of  the  present  city,  by  the  names  of  Kickapoo  and 
Black  Partridge  creeks,  and  of  other  geographic  features  in  the  vicinity. 
Indian  trails  focused  upon  the  river  at  this  point,  among  them  the  war- 
path which  ran  from  the  Wabash  to  the  Des  Moines  river.4 

Peoria  was  visited  by  Marquette  in  1673,  and  six  years  later  La  Salle 
built  Fort  Creve  Coeur  on  the  opposite  bluffs.  A  French  settlement  was 
established  as  early  as  1725,5  and  to  the  end  of  the  French  period  it 
constituted  a  connecting  link  between  their  establishments  on  the  Great 
Lakes  and  the  Mississippi  river.  The  French  traders  at  Peoria  did  a 
driving  business  with  the  Indians  in  deer,  beaver,  otter,  and  mink  skins,6 
so  that  the  place  was  said  to  be  the  most  important  trading  point  in  the 
Mississippi  valley.7     The  French  village  was  destroyed  by  an  American 


1  Ford:    History  of  Putnam  and  Marshall  Counties,  pp.  121-123. 

-  Bradsby:  History  of  Bureau  County,  p.  437;  Ford:  History  of  Putnam  and  Marshall  Counties,, 
p.  89. 

A  Frenchman  named  Beuro  built  a  trading  house  on  the  west  bank  of  the  river  prior  to  1790.  Each 
spring  for  some  years  he  sent  canoes  loaded  with  furs  and  buffalo  skins  down-river  to  the  lower  markets. 
Bureau  county  takes  its  name  from  him.    Matson:    Reminiscences  of  Bureau  County,  p.  276. 

3  Compendium  of  the  Seventh  Census,  p.  336  et  seq. 

4  Drown:     Record  and  Historical  View  of  Peoria,  p.  125. 

5  Bateman  and  Selby:    Historical  Encyclopedia  of  Illinois,  p.  418. 

6  Ballance:    History  of  Peoria,  p.  210. 

7  Bateman  and  Selby:    Historical  Encyclopedia  of  Illinois,  p.  418. 


BARROWS.]  SETTLEMENT  AND  DEVELOPMENT.  85 

force  during  the  War  of  1812,  because  it  was  supposed  that  the  inhabitants 
were  in  League  with  certain  troublesome  Indian  tribes  of  the  region.  At 
that  time  the  population,  estimated  at  between  200  and  300,  was  com- 
posed of  French  traders,  hunters,  and  voyageurs,  together  with  a  con- 
siderable  Dumber  of  half  breeds  and  Indians.1  The  next  year  Fort  Clark 
was  built  upon  the  site  of  Peoria,  and  in  1819  the  permanent  American 
settlement  began,  the  first  settlers,  as  already  noted  (f.  n.,  p.  74),  coming 
from  the  Shoal  creek  settlement,  some  forty  miles  east  of  St.  Louis.2 

Peoria  was  credited  with  the  best  town  site  and  harbor  in  the  entire 
west,3  and  in  consequence  of  these  advantages  and  the  fertility  of  the 
surrounding  country,  it  was  predicted  as  early  as  1823  that  it  "would 
become  a  city  of  the  first  importance.4  Nevertheless,  the  town  grew  very 
slowly  during  the  first  years.  The  American  Fur  Company,  whose 
traders  had  passed  from  Lake  Michigan  to  the  Illinois  river  as  early  as 
1778,5  established  a  trading  post  at  Peoria  in  1824, 6  but  the  fur  bearing 
animals  of  the  region  were  nearing  extinction.  Fishing  in  the  lake 
afforded  some  little  basis  for  trade,7  but  as  late  as  1832  flour  for  food 
and  corn  for  planting  had  to  be  brought  from  St.  Louis,8  In  1833  it 
was  still  a  village  of  only  about  twenty-five  families,9  most  of  whom 
lived  in  log  cabins.10  The  following  year  it  began  to  grow  rapidly,11  and 
by  1837  it  was  said  to  have  a  population  of  about  fifteen  hundred.12 

Advent  of  steamboat  and  development  of  river  towns. — The  develop- 
ment of  steamboat  navigation  on  the  Illinois  river  was  one  of  the  most 
important  events  in  the  history  of  the  valley.  It  created  new  towns  and 
formed  the  basis  of  their  growth;  it  stimulated  the  growth  of  its  agri- 
cultural population ;  and  it  greatly  increased  the  products  and  the  pros- 
perity of  the  region. 

The  first  steamboat  upon  the  western  rivers  was  built  at  Pittsb.irg  in 
j  811.  but  seventeen  years  passed  before  the  first  one  appeared  on  the 
Illinois.13  Till  then  the  limited  trade  of  the  Illinois  river  was  carried 
on  in  canoes,  pirogues,  flat  and  keel-boats.14  The  first  steamboats  on  the 
Tiver  ran  up  only  to  Beardstown,  founded  in  1829  about  ninety  miles 
above  the  mouth  of  the  stream,  at  the  point  which  was,  for  a  time,  the 
head  of  navigation  for  the  larger  New  Orleans  steamboats.15  Beards- 
town  enjoyed  a  large  trade.  .In  1831  steamboats  arrived  from  St.  Louis 
almost  daily,  and  it  was  estimated  that  more  passengers  and  goods  were 
landed  there  than  at  any  other  point  on  the  river.  So  recently  and  rapidly 
had  it  become  important,  however,  that  it  was  scarcely  known  south  of 
St.   Louis,  and  a  consignment  of  goods  from  the  East  marked  "Beards- 


nois,  pp 


Bateman  and  Selby:     Historical  Encyclopedia  of  Illinois,  p.  418;  and  Edwards:     History  of  Illi- 


rown:    Record  and  Historical  View  of  Peoria,  pp.  75,  81;  Ballance:     History  of  Peoria,  p.  47. 

3  Edwards:    History  of  Illinois,  p.  66. 

4  Beck:    Gazetteer  of  Illinois  and  Missouri,  p.  147. 
G  Magazine  of  Western  History,  V.  12,  p.  506. 

8  Bateman  and  Selby:    Historical  Encyclopedia  of  Illinois,  p.  419. 
7  Beck:    Gazetteer  of  Illinois  and  Missouri,  p.  119. 

"  Ballance:    History  of  Peoria,  p.  211. 

9  Peck:     Gazetteer  of  Illinois,  p.  270. 

10  Hunt's  Merchants'  Magazine,  V.  41,  p.  688. 

11  Hoffman:    A  Winter  in  the  Far  West,  V.  2,  p.  57;  Tanner:    View  of  the  Mississippi  Valley,  p.  228. 

12  Illinois  in  1837,  p.  138;  Peck:     Gazetteer  of  Illinois,  p.  270. 

13  Mitchell:    Sketches  of  Illinois,  p.  14;  Illinois  in  1837,  p.  34. 

14  Davidson  and  Stuve:    History  of  Illinois,  p.  348;  History  of  Peoria  County,  p.  526. 

15  Illinois  in  1837,  p.  115. 


86  THE    MIDDLE    ILLINOIS   VALLEY.  [bull.  no.  15 

town,  111.,"  remained  for  some  time  at  Shawneetown  on  the  Ohio  river, 
where  it  had  been  landed  by  mistake,  because  the  inhabitants  of  that  place 
did  not  know  where  Beardstown  was.1 

The  first  steamboat  to  reach  Peoria  arrived  in  December,  1829. 
Another  came  in  the  following  spring.  In  1833  three  different  steam- 
boats were  running  there;  in  1834,  seven;  and  by  1840,  forty-four.2  The 
great  bend  of  the  river  at  Hennepin  was  reached  by  the  first  steamboat 
that  went  above  Peoria,  in  May,  1831,  and  by  a  second  in  the  following 
September.3 

There  was  no  occasion  for  the  first  steamboat  which  reached  Peoria 
to  go  beyond  that  point,  for  not  a  town  existed  on  the  river  above. 
During  the  next  seven  years  De  Pue  (then  called  Trenton),  Hennepin, 
Henry,  Lacon,  and  Chillicothe  were  all  founded.4  They  depended  almost 
exclusively  \ipon  the  river  trade  in  grain  and  meat,  and  substantial 
growth  in  most  cases  came  only  when  steamboats  became  common  above 
Peoria  in  the  forties.  Business  depression  following  the  panic  of  1837 
also  retarded  their  growth. 

The  first  building  upon  the  site  of  Hennepin,  a  store,  was  erected  in 
1831,  the  goods  having  been  bought  in  St.  Louis,  brought  to  Pekin  by 
boat,  and  hauled  from  there  by  land.5  In  the  40's6  and  50V  Hennepin 
had  a  large  river  trade  in  grain.  An  early  attempt  to  draw  trade  from 
the  west  side  of  the  river  by  establishing  a  ferry  was  stoutly  opposed  by 
the  merchants  of  Princeton.  Finally  the  people  in  southeastern  Bureau 
county  demanded  an  outlet  by  the  river,  and  the  ferry,  together  with  an 
embankment  leading  to  it  across  the  flood-plain,  was  provided.8  Impor- 
tant commercial  cities  frequently  develop  at  conspicuous  bends  in  navi- 
gable rivers,  for  at  such  points  much  traffic  is  likely  to  change  from 
water  transportation  to  land  carriage,  and  vice  versa.  The  early  com- 
mercial importance  of  Cincinnati  and  Nashville  was  due,  in  no  small 
degree,  to  their  location  at  great  bends  of  the  Ohio  and  Cumberland 
rivers.  In  view  of  this,  it  might,  at  first  thought,  be  supposed  that  its 
location  at  the  great  turn  in  the  Illinois  river  should  have  given  Hen- 
nepin a  more  rapid  growth  than  it  experienced.  It  is  clear,  however, 
that  in  general  only  up-river  traffic,  seeking  points  to  the  north- 
ward, and  down-river  traffic,  seeking  points  to  the  westward  of 
the  bend  of  the  Illinois,  would  leave  the  river  there,  and  that  the  area 
to  the  northwest  of  the  turn  that  would  find  its  nearest  river  point  at 
the  bend,  would  be  much  larger  than  that  to  the  southeast.  In  a  word, 
towns  of  this  type  normally  develop,  as  in  the  case  of  Cincinnati  and 
Nashville,  on  the  outside,  and  not  the  inside  of  the.  bend  in  the  river. 
In  the  case  of  the  Illinois,  however,  the  inviting  terrace  was  on  the 
inside  and  here  Hennepin  was  founded,  while  the  land  adjacent  to  the 


1  Illinois  Monthly  Magazine,  V.  2,  pp.  100-101. 

2  Drown:    Record  and  Historical  View  of  Peoria,  p.  107;  Peck:      Guide  for  Emigrants,  p.  322. 

3  Bradsby:    History  of  Bureau  County,  p.  116;  Matson:    Reminiscences  of  Bureau  County,  p.  284. 

4  Bureau  is  not  properly  a  river  town,  but  was  created  by  the  business  of  the  railroad  junction.    Com- 
menced in  1853,  it  was  regularly  laid  out  some  time  later.    (Bradsby:    History  of  Bureau  County,  p.  437.) 

c  Ellsworth:    Records  of  the  Olden  Time,  p.  161;  Ford:    History  of  Putnam  and  Marshall  Counties, 
p.  87. 

.6  Ford:    History  of  Putnam  and  Marshall  Counties,  p.  89. 

7  Hawes:    Illinois  State  Gazetteer,  pp.  106-107. 

8  Ellsworth:     Records  of  the  Olden  Time,  p.  164;  Matson:     Reminiscences  of  Bureau  County, 
p. 266. 


barrows.]  SETTLEMENT  AXD  DEVELOPMENT.  87 

river  upon  the  outside  was  low  flood-plain  subject  to  annual  overflow, 
The  disadvantages  in  the  location  of  Hennepin  may  have  influenced 
the  founding  of  West  Hennepin  (p.  84),  though  this  is  mere  conjecture. 

The  site  of  Henry  was  chosen  and  a  ferry  license  obtained  by  1831.1 
A  heavy  business  was  carried  on  in  grain  after  1844,2  and  to  invite  trade 
from  the  east  side  of  the  river  a  bridge  and  a  dike  through  the  bottom 
lands  were  built.3  Henry  may  have  benefited  at  times  by  the  fact  that 
it  was  considered  the  head  of  low  water  navigation  from  St.  Louis.4 

Lacon  was  laid  out  in  1831/  many  of  its  early  settlers  coming  from 
Ohio.6  The  village  promptly  became  an  outlet  for  the  surrounding  grain 
producing  country,  and  as  early  as  1837  was  described  as  a  "thriving 
little  town."7  It  advanced  most  rapidly  after  1850/  and  promised  to 
become,  after  Peoria,  one  of  the  most  important  points  on  the  river.9 

Borne,  founded  in  1832  and  regularly  visited  by  steamboats  in  1835, 
never  recovered  from  the  effects  of  the  panic  of  1837.10 

De  Pue  (Trenton)  was  the  fifth  river  town  established  north  of 
Peoria.  In  1835  a  large  warehouse  was  built  on  the  edge  of  a  low  ter- 
race on  the  north  shore  of  Lake  De  Pue.  The  following  year  two  other 
storehouses  were  erected,  and  the  place  at  once  became  the  shipping 
point  for  a  large  area  to  the  west  of  the  river.  As  in  the  cases  of  the 
preceding  towns,  the  grain  was  sent  to  St.  Louis  until  the  opening  of 
the  Illinois  and  Michigan  canal  in  1848.u 

Chillicothe  was  laid  out  at  the  head  of  the  rapper  Lake  Peoria  in  1836, 
some  time  after  the  first  building  was  erected  on  the  site.12  It  had  a  fine 
steamboat  landing,  and  became  a  typical  grain  shipping  town.13  The 
need  of  an  outlet  for  the  farmers  living  on  the  east  side  of  the  river  be- 
tween Chillicothe  and  Peoria  led  to  the  founding  of  Spring  Bay  in 
1838.  For  twenty  years  after  1844,  Spring  Bay  was  one  of  the  most  im- 
portant grain  markets  on  the  river,  and  a  hundred  wagons  were  often 
seen  on  its  streets  in  a  single  day.14 

To  the  south  of  Peoria,  Pekin  dates  from  1828,  the  name  indicating 
the  future  greatness  which  is  founders  felt  the  advantages  of  its  situa- 
tion insured.15  The  place  was  injured  by  a  visitation  of  cholera  in  1834, 
but  most  of  Tazewell  county  was  commercially  dependent  on  it,  and  it 
therefore  developed  a  very  large  river  trade. 

Each  one  of  the  above  river  towns  constituted  a  gateway  between  an 
agricultural  community  and  the  outside  world,  and  its  early  importance 


1  Ford:    History  of  Putnam  and  Marshall  Counties,  p.  111. 

2  Idem,    p.    113. 

3  Idem,  p.  115. 

4  Hawes:    Illinois  State  Gazetteer,  p.  107. 

s  Ford:    History  of  Putnam  and  Marshall  Counties,  p.  105. 

6  Idem,  p.  106. 

7  Illinois  in  1837,  p.  99;  Peck:    Gazetteer  of  Illinois,  p.  236. 

8  Ford:    History  of  Putnam  and  Marshall  Counties,  pp.  109-110. 

9  Hawes:    Illinois  State  Gazetteer  (1858-9),  p.  123. 
10  History  of  Peoria  County,  p.  582. 

1 '  Taxpayers  and  Voters  of  Bureau  County,  p.  159;  Bradsby:    History  of  Bureau  County,  p.  435. 

12  History  of  Peoria  County,  p.  577. 

13  Idem,  p.  578;  Hawes:    Illinois  State  Gazetteer  (1858-9),  p.  61. 

14  History  of  Woodford  County,  pp.  305-306. 

18  Bailey:    Illinois  State  Gazetteer  (1864-5),  p.  500. 


88  THE    MIDDLE    ILLINOIS   VALLEY.  [BULL.  NO.  15 

was  in  general  measured  by  the  extent,  population,  and  productivity  of 
its  tributary  hinterland.  A  number  of  conditions  to  which  attention  is 
glow  directed  gave  Peoria  preeminence. 

Peoria  becomes  the  leading  town  on  the  Illinois  river. — Peoria  grew 
from  the  first  more  rapidly  than  the  other  towns  of  the  area.  In  1850 
its  population  was  more  than  twice  the  combined  population  of  the 
others.1  A  number  of  causes  had  produced  this  result :  (1)  Its  central 
location;  (2)  the  early  building  of  roads  from  the  city  into  the  surround- 
ing country;  (3)  the  establishment  of  the  first  ferry,  and  later  the  first 
bridge  across  the  Illinois;  (-1)  the  focusing  upon  the  river  at  this  point 
of  important  roads  from  other  parts  of  the  State;  (5)  the  influence  of 
certain  special  lines  of  trade  in  fish,  ice,  and  coal;  and  (6)  the  fact  that 
many  steamboats  did  not  run  above  Peoria. 

(1)  While  it  holds  a  marginal  position  with  reference  to  the  river 
towns  of  the  six  counties  with  which  this  report  is  chiefly  concerned, 
it  is  very  centrally  located  with  reference  to  the  valley  as  a  whole,2  and 
particularly  in  relation  to  Chicago  and  St.  Louis,  being  almost  exactly 
midway  between  the  two.  This  meant  that  communication  could  be  had 
from  Peoria  with  all  other  towns  on  the  river,  with  less  travel  than  it 
could  from  any  other  town,  with  all  the  rest.  This  central  location 
helped  powerfully  to  make  Peoria  the  dominant  commercial  center,  and 
later  the  wholesale  distributing  center  for  the  valley.  Wholesale  busi- 
ness houses  were  established  as  early  as  1842.3 

(2)  Attention  was  given  very  early  to  the  building  of  roads  and 
bridges,  thus  extending  the  sphere  of  commercial  influence  of  Peoria, 
and  bringing  produce  nearer  a  market.  Provision  was  made  for  the 
opening  of  roads  from  Peoria  to  the  borders  of  the  county  in  1825.4 
The  spread  of  population  beyond  Kickapoo  creek  called  for  bridges 
across  that  stream,  and  the  first  one  was  completed  by  1830,5  and  three 
others  by  1837.6  In  general  wagon  roads  are  late  in  being  opened  along 
the  banks  of  navigable  rivers,  since  traffic  moving  parallel  with  the 
stream  can  use  the  water;  and  in  this  connection  it  is  worthy  of  note 
that  as  late  as  1838  no  road  ran  north  from  Peoria  in  the  valley.7 

(3)  Peoria  established  the  first  ferry  across  the  Illinois,  and  so 
profited  from  trade  and  travel  crossing  the  river.  Such  communication 
proved  altogether  inadequate,  however,  and  within  two  years  after  the 
incorporation  of  the  place  as  a  city,  the  citizens  took  steps  toward  the 
building  of  a  bridge  over  the  river.8  The  position  for  the  bridge  was 
indicated  by  the  constriction  in  the  river  produced  by  the  fan  of  Farm 
creek.  It  was  completed  in  November,  1849,  and  together  with  the 
trestle  work  over  the  flood-plain  was  a  half  mile  in  length.     The  city 


1  Compendium  Seventh  Census,  p.  338  et  seq. 

2  Peoria  is  also  not  far  from  the  geographical  center  of  the  state,  which  is  perhaps  the  most  important 
claim  it  advanced  in  1843,  1847,  and  1867  for  being  made  the  state  capital.  History  of  Peoria  County,  p. 
454;  Drown:    Record  and  Historical  View  of  Peoria,  pp.  97-98. 

3  History  of  Peoria  County,  p.  564. 

4  Idem,  pp.  306-307. 
G  Idem,  p.  323. 

6  Illinois  in  1837,  p.  95. 

7  Jones:    Illinois  and  the  West,  pp.  171-172. 

8  Hunt's  Merchants'  Magazine,  V.  41,  pp.  696-697. 


BARROWS.] 


SETTLEMENT  AND  DEVELOPMENT. 


89 


;it  once  felt  the  benefits  of  the  bridge  in  added  business;  travelers  and 
drovers,  in  order  to  cross  the  river  without  delay  and  in  safety,  found 
it  advantageous  to  digress  from  their  direct  course  to  cross  at  Peoria.1 

(  I)  Because  of  its  central  location  on  the  Illinois  and  in  the  State, 
its  growing  trade,  and  the  facilities  for  crossing  the  river,  Peoria  became 
one  of  the  most  important  road  centers  in  the  State.     Figure  40  shows 


Fig.  40.    Map  showing  roads  of  Illinois  in  1832.    (Baird 


the  roads  of  Illinois  in  1832.  The  number  of  roads  focusing  upon 
Peoria,  the  important  places  with  which  they  connected  it,  and  the 
paucity  of  roads  running  to  the  other  towns  of  the  middle  valley  are 
points  worthy  of  note.     Peoria  became  a  great  cross-roads  between  the 


Drown:    Record  and  Historical  View  of  Peoria,  p.  102. 


90  THE    MIDDLE    ILLINOIS   VALLEY.  [bull.  no.  15 

Highway  of  the  Illinois  river,  and  various  important  land  routes.  Its 
importance  as  a  collecting  and  distributing  center  increased  rapidly. 
In  1848  it  had  over  eighty  business  establishments,1  which  represented 
an  increase  of  over  100  per  cent  in  three  years.2  Two  years  later  its  ex- 
ports were  valued  at  over  one  and  a  quarter  million  dollars.3 

In  1822,  a  mail  route  -was  opened  from  Edwardsville  (north-east  of 
St.  Louis)  through  Springfield  to  Peoria.4  The  northward  extension 
of  this  road  from  Peoria  to  Galena  became  one  of  the  great  thoroughfares 
of  the  West,  A  rush  of  miners  and  prospectors  to  the  Galena  lead 
region  began  in  1822,  when  the  mines  were  first  effectively  worked.5 
The  output  of  ore  reached  nearly  thirteen  million  pounds  in  1828,6  and 
by  1830  the  population  was  between  900  and  1,000,  nine-tenths  of  which 
were  men  engaged  in  mining.7  In  addition  many  went  back  and  forth 
between  the  mines  and  the  southern  settlements  each  season. 

This  rapidly  increasing  mining  population  demanded  food  supplies 
in  large  quantities,  and  Galena  became  an  important  market  for  the 
Illinois  valley,  especially  for  Peoria  and  the  farmers  north  along  the 
line  of  the  road  in  Bureau  county.8  The  pioneer  in  the  Galena  trade 
was  a  man  named  Kellogg,  who  took  three  wagons  and  a  drove  of  cattle 
across  the  prairies  to  Galena  early  in  1827.9  His  route  soon  became  a 
beaten  track,  which  for  years  was  known  as  Kellogg's  Trail.  Meats  con- 
stituted an  important  item  in  the  trade,  and  because  of  the  distance 
of  the  market  and  the  difficulty  of  transportation,  cattle  and  swine  were 
driven  in  large  droves  to  Galena  and  slaughtered  there.10  St.  Louis  was 
the  great  market  for  the  Galena  lead,  which  was  taken  down  the  Missis- 
sippi by  boat ;  but  much  of  the  return  travel  and  part  of  the  return  traffic 
was  through  Peoria  and  by  Kellogg's  Trail.  This  was  a  more  direct 
route  in  consequence  of  the  great  western  bend  of  the  Mississippi  along 
the  boundary  of  Illinois,  and  avoided  the  slow  up-river  trip  against  the 
current.  In  1831,  the  Galena  stage  left  St.  Louis  once  a  week.11  Stages 
left  Peoria  for  Galena  three  times  a  week  in  1837,  and  shortly  there 
were  daily  stages  each  way.12  Without  doubt,  Peoria  derived  much  ben- 
efit from  the  Galena  trade,  especially  down  to  1845,  when  the  mining 
industry  culminated.13 

The  other  routes  extending  from  Peoria  (Fig.  40)  probably  had 
less  effect  in  the  upbuilding  of  the  town.  That  in  some  cases  their  busi- 
ness was  not  unimportant,  however,  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  as  early 
as  1837  stages  left  three  times  a  week  for  Chicago  and  for  Springfield, 
and  once  a  week  for  Knoxville.14 


1  Western  Journal,  V.  I.,  p.  114. 

2  Idem,  p.  113. 

3  Drown:    Record  and  Historical  View  of  Peoria,  p.  144. 

4  Davidson  and  Stuve:    History  of  Illinois,  p.  352. 
6  De  Bow's  Review,  V.  19,  pp.  408-409. 

6  Niles'  Register,  August  29,  1829. 

7  Idem,  V.  63,  p.  388;  Davidson  and  Stuve:    History  of  Illinois,  p.  346. 

8  Bradsby:    History  of  Bureau  County,  pp.  175-176. 

9  Matson:    Reminiscences  of  Bureau  County,  pp.  291-292. 

10  Idem;  Bradsby:    History  of  Bureau  County,  p.  176;  Illinois  in  1837,  p.  96. 

11  Illinois  Monthly  Magazine,  V.  2,  p.  54. 

12  Illinois  in  1837,  p.  126;  Bradsbv:    History  of  Bureau  County,  p.  271. 

13  Illinois  Blue  Book,  1900,  p.  141. 

14  Illinois  in  1837,  p.  126. 


barrows.]  SETTLEMENT  AND  DEVELOPMENT.  91 

(5)  Certain  minor  factors  aided  in  the  growth  of  Peoria.  The 
fishing  business  in  the  lake,  which  was  coeval  with  the  settlement  of  the 
place,  continued  to  be  of  some  importance.1  The  sending  of  ice  down- 
river to  St  Louis  and  other  towns  seems  to  have  been  a  profitable  busi- 
ness.1' Peoria  also  had  a  considerable  trade  in  coal.  The  first  shipment 
by  river  appears  to  have  been  in  1821,  when  a  boat  load  was  sent  down 
the  Mississippi  to  St.  Louis.3  By  1850  some  twenty  thousand  tons  were 
being  exported  each  year.1 

((>)  Because  of  its  superior  importance,  many  steamboats  from  St. 
Louis  did  not  run  above  Peoria.  This  helped  to  make  Peoria  a  dis- 
tributing point  for  the  towns  to  the  northward,  for  freight  on  such  boats 
consigned  to  up-river  towns  had  to  break  bulk  there. 

While  certain  manufactures  had  started  up  in  Peoria  before  1850, 
still  its  growth  to  that  time  was  primarily  due  to  its  commerce.  After 
1850  the  rapid  development  of  its  manufacturing  interests  and  its  rail- 
road connections  became  large  factors  in  its  progress,  and  made  more 
absolute  its  leadership  in  the  valley.    These  matters  are  considered  later. 

The  period  of  the  Illinois  river  steamboat. — The  years  1835  to  1855 
may  appropriately  be  taken  as  marking  the  period  of  the  supremacy 
of  the  steamboat  on  the  Illinois  river.  Before  1835  there  were  few  boats 
on  the  river.5  After  that  the  number  increased  rapidly.  In  1836,  thirty- 
five  different  steamboats  passed  Beardstown.6  It  will  be  remembered 
that  the  beginning  of  the  period  coincides  essentially  with  the  beginning 
of  the  substantial  growth  of  Peoria  (p.  85),  and  in  a  general  way  with 
the  founding  of  several  of  the  up-river  towns.  The  exact  date  for  the 
closing  of  the  period  is  more  or  less  arbitrary,  but  the  importance  of  the 
steamboat  trade  on  the  Illinois  river  promptly  declined,  both  relatively 
and  absolutely,  with  the  appearance  of  the  railroad  in  the  valley. 

The  development  of  the  steamboat  business  on  the  Illinois  is  regis- 
tered roughly  by  the  number  of  steamboats  running  to  Peoria.  In 
1833  there  were  three  and  in  1834  only  seven.  In  1840,  however,  forty- 
four  different  boats  ran  to  Peoria;  in  1841,  sixty;  and  in  1844,  150. 
There  were  694  arrivals  of  steamboats  in  1845;  871  in  18467;  about  866 
in  1847;  1,166  in  18488;  and  1,286  in  1850.9  In  addition  to  these, 
there  was  a  large  number  of  canal  boats,10  barges  and  flat  boats.  In 
1852  there  were  about  1,800  arrivals  of  boats  at  Peoria.11  The  Illinois 
seems  to  have  compared  very  favorably  in  commercial  importance  with 
the  other  great  western  rivers,  judging  from  the  number  of  steamboat 
arrivals  from  different  points  at  St.  Louis,  which,  because  of  its  position 
near  the  mouths  of  the  Missouri,  Illinois,  and  Ohio  rivers,  and  at  the 


1  Hunt's  Merchants'  Magazine,  V.  41,  p.  687;  Beck:    Gazetteer  of  Illinois  and  Missouri,  p.  119. 

2  History  of  Peoria  County,  pp.  528,  544-545. 

3  Ballance:    History  of  Peoria,  p.  174. 

4  Drown:    Record  and  Historical  View  of  Peoria,  p.  144. 

B  Gould:    History  of  River  Navigation,  p.  521;  Drown:    Record  and  Historical  View  of  Peoria,  p.  107. 
6  Illinois  in  1837,  p.  34;  Mitchell:    Sketches  of  Illinois,  p.  14. 
7. Western  Journal,  V.  1,  p.  113. 

Idem,  V.  2,  p.  267. 
9  Drown:    Record  and  Historical  View  of  Peoria,  p.  107. 

10  The  Illinois-Michigan  canal  was  opened  in  1848. 

11  Western  Journal  and  Civilian,  N.  S.,  V.  3,  p.  349. 


92 


THE    MIDDLE    ILLINOIS    VALLEY. 


[BULL.   NO.   15 


point  where  bulk  was  broken  between  the  lighter  draft  boats  of  the 
upper  Mississippi  and  those  of  heavier  draft  operating  on  the  lower 
[Mississippi,  had  become  the  greatest  steamboat  center  on  the  western 
waters,  with  the  exception  of  Xvw  Orleans.1  The  following  table2  shows 
the  steamboat  arrivals  at  St.  Louis  for  four  typical  years : 


1847 

1848 

1849 

658 

690 

686 

717 

697 

806 

314 

327 

353 

430 

429 

401 

502 

426 

313 

146 

194 

•  122 

202 

396 

217 

From  the  Illinois  river 

From  the  upper  Mississippi 

From  the  Missouri  river 

From  the  Ohio  river 

From  New  Orleans 

From  Cairo 

From  other  points 


7883 
635 
390 
493 
303 
75 
215 


It  will  be  noted  that  the  Illinois  river  led  in  1850,  in  spite  of  the  fact 
that  produce  from  the  middle  valley  was  moving  through  the  Illinois- 
Michigan  canal  to  eastern  markets. 

Until  the  opening  of  the  Illinois-Michigan  canal  all  the  exports  of 
the  middle  Illinois  valley  save  those  sent  overland  to  Chicago  and  Galena, 
went  down  the  Illinois  river.  The  trade  of  the  valley  was  an  important 
factor  in  the  growth  of  St.  Louis.  It  has  been  seen  that  St.  Louis  was 
a  great  point  of  departure  for  settlers  going  into  the  Illinois  valley.4  In 
1835  merchants  could  purchase  exchange  to  any  amount  on  the  East 
only  in  St.  Louis,  and  there  they  bought  all  their  goods.  St.  Louis 
merchants  were  connected  as  owners  or  agents,  with  all  the  Illinois  river 
steamboats,  These  boats  required  up-river  as  well  as  down-river  cargoes, 
and  the  former  could  be  obtained  only  in  St.  Louis.5  Such  close  com- 
mercial connections  continued  until  1848.6 


The  Illinois  and  Michigan  Canal, 

A  new  and  powerful  factor  in  the  economic  life  of  the  Illinois  valley 
appeared  in  1848  in  the  form  of  the  Illinois  and  Michigan  canal,  to 
which  reference  has  already  been  made.  The  canal  opened  new  markets, 
brought  the  valley  into  closer  relations  with  Chicago  and  the  Great 
Lakes,  and  modified  its  life  in  important  ways.  The  people  of  the 
middle  valley  had  before  faced  for  the  most  part  toward  the  west;  from 
now  on  they  found  their  closest  relations  in  the  east.  The  salient  factors 
in  the  history  of  the  canal  are  next  considered,  insofar  as  they  affected 
the  area  under  consideration. 

Physiographic  processes  make  canal  feasible. — Had  the  degradational 
work  of  the  Chicago  Outlet  (p.  47)  continued,  the  Great  Lakes 
would  have  discharged  permanently  to  the  southwest,  and  the  early 
economic  history  of  the  middle  Illinois  valley  would  doubtless  have 
differed  notably  from  that  sketched  above.     As  it  was,  the  waterway  to 


1  De  Bow's  Review,  V.  I,  p.  147. 

2  Western  Journal,  V.  5,  p.  258. 

3  Of  these,  634  were  from  Peoria;  Drown:     Record  and  Historical  View  of  Peoria,  p.  145. 

4  Illinois  Monthly  Magazine,  V.  2,  p.  54. 
G  Ford:     History  of  Illinois,  pp.  176-177. 

6  Hall:    The  West;  Its  Commerce  and  Navigation,  pp.  102,213. 


barrows.]  SETTLEMENT  AND  DEVELOPMENT.  9H 

the  southwesl  was  frequently  continuous  after  heavy  rains,  so  that  boats 
of  eighl  to  ten  ions  burden  carried  freight  between  Lake  Michigan  and 
the  Illinois  river  without  portage.1  The  first  produce  sent  from  Peoria 
to  Chicago,  a  small  consignment  of  provisions  for  the  use  of  the  Fur 
Company  (1825),  was  carried  all  the  way  in  boats.2 

Development  of  canal  project. — A  eanal  between  Lake  Michigan  and 
the  Illinois  river  was  first  suggested  by  Joliet,  a  member  of  the  first 
white  party  (1673)  that  passed  along  the  Chicago  Outlet.  Albert  Gal- 
latin declared  in  1808  that  there  was  no  doub't  of  the  practicability  of 
opening  a  canal  along  this  line.3  Such  a  canal  was  considered  a  proba- 
bility by  a  writer  in  Xiles'  Register  in  1814,  who  predicted  that  it  would 
make  Illinois  "the  seat  of  an  immense  commerce/'4  It  was  agitated  for 
two  decades  in  Illinois  before  work  was  finally  begun  in  1836  with  the 
aid  of  large  land  grants  from  the  government, 

Results  expected  front  the  canal. — It  was  expected  that  the  influence 
of  the  canal  would  be  far  reaching  and  of  the  utmost  importance.  Its 
friends  had  urged  that,  among  other  things,  it  would  open  new  markets 
by  way  of  the  Great  Lakes,  St.  Lawrence  river,  and  the  Erie  canal,  that 
it  would  lower  transportation  rates,  increase  the  prices  of  produce  and 
lessen  the  cost  of  merchandise,  increase  greatly  the  population,  products, 
and  value  of  the  adjacent  land,  decrease  the  clanger  of  sectionalism  by 
drawing  closer  together  the  Mississinni  valley  and  the  Great  Lakes  and 
East,  and  yield  a  revenue  sufficient  to  pay  the  expenses  of  the  State  gov- 
ernment.5 Some  of  the  anticipated  results  were  realized,  as  shown  below ; 
others,  notably  the  last,  proved  altogether  extravagant. 

Opening  of  the  canal. — The  Illinois  and  Michigan  canal  was  planned 
and  in  part  constructed  as  a  ship  canal,  capable  of  accommodating  the 
largest  boats  then  navigating  the  Great  Lakes.  The  lake  level  was  to 
run  out  at  the  site  of  Lockport,  wdiere  the  first  locks  would  be  located. 
Here  it  was  expected  an  important  manufacturing  and  commercial  city 
would  develop,  for  which  a  name  was  selected  (Lockport),  indicating 
its  advantageous  situation  with  reference  to  both  canal  and  lake.6  The 
expense  of  making  the  projected  deep  cut  through  the  Niagara  lime- 
stone, however,  and  the  heavy  debts  of  the  State,  led  to  a  modification  of 
the  plans.  The  canal  had  been  given  a  depth  of  eighteen  to  twenty  feet 
for  some  thirty  miles ;  west  of  that,  it  was  completed  with  a  depth  of 
only  six  feet.  The  canal  is  nearly  one  hundred  miles  long,  with  its 
western  end  at  La  Salle,  the  head  of  navigation  upon  the  Illinois  river. 

The  first  boat  to  pass  through  the  entire  length  of  the  canal  from 
La  Salle  arrived  at  Chicago  on  April  23,  1848,  with  sugar  from  Xew 
Orleans.7     The  date    (May   24,1848)    of  the  arrival  of  the  first  canal 


1  Beck:  Gazetteer  of  Illinois  and  Missouri,  p.  20;  Publication  No.  8  of  the  Historical  Library  of  Illi- 
nois, p.  162;  American  State  Papers,  V.  20,  p.  735. 

*  Drown:    Record  and  Historical  View  of  Peoria,  p.  84. 
3  American  State  Papers,  V.  20,  p.  735. 

*  Xiles'  Weekly  Register,  V.  6,  p.  394. 

5  Davidson  and  Stuve:  History  of  Illinois,  p.  487;  Hunt's  Merchants'  Magazine,  V.  9,  p.  97;  Niles' 
Register,  November  19,  1831;  Illinois  in  1837,  p.  20;  Beck:   Gazetteer  of  Illinois  and  Missouri,  pp.  27-35. 

6  Bailey:    Illinois  State  Gazetteer,  (1864-5),  p.  47. 

7  Report  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  the  Illinois  and  Michigan  Canal,  1848,  p.  2.  The  Annual  Reports 
of  the  Board  of  Canal  Trustees  were  published  until  1869  in  the  Reports  to  the  General  Assembly  of  Illi- 
nois. Thereafter  the  yearly  reports  of  the  Board  of  Canal  Commissioners  for  Illinois  to  the  Governor 
were  published  in  separate  form.    These  reports  constitute  the  most  satisfactory  history  of  the  canal. 


94  THE    MIDDLE    ILLINOIS    VALLEY.  [bull.  no.  15 

boat  from  Lake  Michigan  was  "a  day  of  rejoicing  and  triumph"  in 
Peoria.1  During  the  remainder  of  the  year  496  canal  boats  visited  the 
city.2 

Early  traffic  on  the  canal. — Lumber  was  the  most  important  article 
brought  into  the  Illinois  valley  through  the  canal.  It  has  already  been 
commented  upon  as  one  of  the  greatest  needs  of  the  prairies  (p.  81). 
Their  occupation  led  to  the  exploitation,  beginning  early  in  the  thirties, 
of  the  great  forests  of  Michigan  and  Wisconsin.  Logs  cut  in  the  in- 
terior were  floated  down  all  the  streams  of  Michigan,  which  flow  toward 
the  west.  At  the  mouths  of  these  rivers  busy  towns  developed  where 
the  logs  were  manufactured  into  lumber.  St.  Joseph  built  what  is  said 
to  have  been  the  earliest  steam  mill  in  western  Michigan  in  1832,  and 
Muskegon  built  one  in  1837,  while  Grand  Haven,  Manistee,  and  other 
points  also  became  important  lumber  centers.  The  manufactured  lumber 
was  transported  across  Lake  Michigan  at  low  rates  to  Illinois.3  By 
1839,  mills  had  started  up  on  the  shores  of  Green  Bay,  Wisconsin,  which 
soon  began  to  send  their  product  south  to  the  prairies.4 

Practically  all  the  lumber  for  the  prairies  passed  through  Chicago. 
The  first  shipment  appears  to  have  been  received  there  in  1833,5  but 
not  until  1836  was  there  any  active  demand  from  the  interior.6  Until 
the  opening  of  the  canal,  Chicago  sent  lumber  into  the  interior  only  in 
wagons,  by  which  it  was  sometimes  carried  two  hundred  miles  or  more.7 
In  1845  over  twenty- two  million  feet  of  lumber  in  addition  to  quantities 
of  shingles,  lath,  and  fencing  material  were  received  at  Chicago.8  Be- 
cause of  the  cost  of  wagon  transportation,  pine  lumber  from  Chicago  was 
scarce  and  very  expensive  in  the  middle  Illinois  valley.  The  alternative 
source  of  supply  for  pine  was  the  forests  of  the  Allegheny  in  western 
New  York  and  Pennsylvania.9  Lumber  was  brought  from  there  to 
Peoria  by  way  of  the  Ohio,  Mississippi,  and  Illinois  rivers.10  In  1838, 
pine  lumber  sold  in  St.  Louis  at  from  $50.00  to  $60.00  per  M,  and  in 
Peoria  at  from  $60.00  to  $70.00 ;  at  inland  points  the  cost  of  carting  had 
to  be  added.11  This  price  was  prohibitive  to  the  majority,  who  were  com- 
pelled to  use  the  less  desirable  timber  growing  in  the  valley.  Even  this 
sold  at  $25.00  to  $35.00  per  M,12  and  settlers  at  a  distance  from  the 
streams  sometimes  built  their  homes  of  clay,  roofing  them  with  lumber. 
At  about  the  same  time  medium  quality  pine  sold  for  $12.00  to  $14.00  in 
Chicago,13  and  before  the  opening  of  the  canal  it  fell  to  $9.00  to  $13. 00.14 


1  Drown:    Record  and  Historical  View  of  Peoria,  p.  103. 

2  Western  Journal,  V.  2,  p.  267;  Hunt's  Merchants  Magazine,  V.  41,  p.  688,  reports  the  arrival  on  the 
same  date  at  Peoria  of  a  canal  boat  built  at  Rochester,  N.  Y.,  that  had  come  by  way  of  the  Erie  Canal, 
Lake  Erie,  the  Ohio  and  Erie  Canal,  and  the  Ohio,  Mississippi,  and  Illinois  rivers.  This  illustrates  the 
round-about  routes  by  which  Peoria  communicated  with  the  East  before  the  opening  of  the  Illinois  and 
Michigan  Canal. 

3  Industrial  Chicago,  V.  4,  p.  318;  V.  5,  pp.  25,  40. 

4  Idem,  V.  5,  p.  31;  Dana:    The  Great  West,  pp.  107-108. 

5  Industrial  Chicago,  V.  5  .p.  20. 

6  Idem,  p.  19. 

7  Idem,  pp.  43-44. 

8  Idem,  p.  32. 

9  Western  Journal  and  Civilian,  N.  S.,  V.  3,  pp.  22-23. 

10  Hunt's  Merchants'  Magazine,  V.  41,  p.  695;  Drown:     Record  and  Historical  View  of  Peoria,  p.  105. 

11  Jones:    Illinois  and  the  West,  pp.  207-208. 

12  Idem. 

13  Industrial  Chicago,  V.  5,  p.  32. 

14  Prairie  Farmer,  V.  6,  p.  296;  V.  7,  p.  264. 


BARROWS.]  SETTLEMENT  AND  DEVELOPMENT.  95 

Upon  the  opening  of  the  canal  great  quantities  of  pine  and  cedar 
lumber  were  taken  into  the  Illinois  valley.  The  cost  of  lumber  was  im- 
mediately reduced  one-half  at  Peoria,  and  further  reductions  soon  fol- 
lowed.1 There  was  at  once  a  notable  change  in  the  character  and  number 
of  buildings  erected.  In  1848,  125  buildings  were  put  up  at  Peoria,  and 
in  1849,  245.2  The  population  of  the  city  increased  67  per  cent  between 
1847  and  1849. 3  The  canal  gave  a  tremendous  impetus  to  the  lumber 
trade  of  Chicago.  The  receipts  in  1848  lacked  only  about  4,000,000  feet 
of  being  double  those  of  the  preceding  year.4  In  1857,  they  were  over 
459,000,000  feet,  and  in  the  decade  1848-1857  they  amounted  to  more 
than  2,000,000,000  feet,  in  addition  to  enormous  quantities  of  lath  and 
shingles.5  The  lumber  business  was  for  years  the  most  important  enter- 
prise of  Chicago.6  It  was  said  that  the  receipts  of  1856  required  the  ser- 
vices of  a  fleet  equal  to  166  first  class  brigs.7  Chicago  lumber  merchants 
established  yards  at  Peoria,  Pekin,  and  other  river  towns,8  and  delivered 
lumber  by  canal  boats  as  far  west  as  Lexington,  Missouri,  and  Ft.  Leaven- 
worth, Kansas.9  The  lumber  trade  of  Chicago  and  the  canal  and  river 
was  injured  to  some  extent  by  the  exploitation  of  the  pineries  of  the 
upper  branches  of  the  Mississippi.  In  the  fifties  lumbering  was  exten- 
sively carried  on  along  the  LaCrosse,  Black,  St.  Croix,  and  other  Missis- 
sippi tributaries.  Each  spring  the  product  of  the  winter's  work  was 
floated  down-stream  to  St.  Louis  and  other  markets.10  Large  quantities 
of  this  northern  pine  were  later  sawed  in  Illinois  mills  along  the  Missis- 
sippi, especially  at  Rock  Island  and  Moline,11  and  in  1885  the  canal  com- 
missioners complained  of  the  "diversion  of  the  lumber  trade  of  the 
Illinois  river."12  Receipts  of  lumber  in  the  Illinois  valley  by  rail  from 
Mississippi  river  points  had  grown  so  large  as  to  seriously  affect  the  bus- 
iness of  the  canal.13 

Although  a  great  number  of  different  articles  were  brought  from  the 
East  by  canal  to  the  middle  Illinois  valley,  only  agricultural  implements, 
machinery,  general  merchandise,  and  salt,  in  addition  to  lumber,  were 
of  any  great  importance.  Great  quantities  of  salt  were  required  in  the 
meat  industry  of  the  river  towns  (p.  109).  Between  1850  and  1865, 
628,776  barrels  of  salt  were  transported  on  the  canal.14  The  canal  gave 
an  important  impetus  to  the  salt  industry  of  New  York,  Onondaga  salt 
competing  with  Kansas  salt  as  far  west  as  St.  Louis.15 


1  Drown:    Record  and  Historical  View  of  Peoria,  p.  105;  Hunt's  Merchants'  Magazine,  V.  41,  p.  695. 
-  Drown:    Record  and  Historical  View  of  Peoria,  p.  147. 

3  Idem,  p.  148. 

4  1847,  32, 118,  225  feet;  1848,  60,  009,  250  feet.     Hunt's  Merchants'  Magazine,  V.  40,  p.  229. 

B  Idem.  The  year  following  the  opening  of  the  canal,  Chicago's  first  railroad,  the  Galena  &  Chicago 
Union,  was  opened  to  the  DesPlaines  river,  and  the  number  and  length  of  the  railroads  radiating  from 
the  city  increased  rapidly  during  the  next  few  years  (Fig.  44).  In  the  long  run  the  railroads  were  the 
most  potent  factor  in  the  growth  of  the  lumber  trade  of  the  city,  but  for  some  years  the  canal  was  much . 
more  important.    Industrial  Chicago,  V.  5,  p.  50. 

"  Industrial  Chicago,  V.  4,  p.  318;  Curtiss:    Western  Portraiture,  pp.  45-46. 

7  Chicago  Magazine,  V.  1,  p.  276. 

8  Industrial  Chicago,  V.  5,  p.  44. 

9  Idem;  Kingsford:    Impressions  of  the  West  and  South,  pp.  20-21. 

10  Western  Journal  and  Civilian,  N.  S.,  V.  3,  pp.  22-23;  Curtiss:    Western  Portraiture,  p.  337. 

11  Porter:    The  West  in  1880,  p.  163. 

1-  Annual  Report  of  Canal  Commissioners,  1885,  p.  4. 

13  The  canal  transported  less  than  twenty-five  million  feet  of  lumber  in  1885,  only  about  one-e'gh 
teenth  of  that  carried  in  1857;  Idem,  p.  29. 

14  Annual  Report  of  Board  of  Trustees,  1865,  pp.  50-51. 
1C  Chicago  Daily  Democrat,  February  23,  1849. 


96  THE    MIDDLE    ILLINOIS   VALLEY.  [bull.  no.  15 

East  bound  traffic  through  the  canal  was  of  two  general  classes,  (1) 
southern  commodities  seeking  a  northern  and  eastern  market,  and  (2) 
surplus  products  from  the  lands  bordering  the  canal  and  the  nearer 
western  rivers  to  which  it  led.  The  Illinois  river  and  canal  became  at 
once  an  important  trade  route  between  the  lower  Mississippi  and  the 
Great  Lakes  and  East,  through  which  large  quantities  of  sugar,  molasses, 
hemp,  and  tobacco  were  shipped.1  The  prices  of  these  articles  were  doubt- 
less much  lower  than  formerly  along  the  Illinois  river.  In  the  second 
class  of  commodities  corn,2  pork,  bacon,  hams,  and  lard  led.3  Whiskey 
from  the  Peoria  distilleries  was  also  an  important  item.  It  had  been  ex- 
pected that  the  opening  of  the  canal  would  lead  to  a  large  development 
in  coal  mining  "along  the  Illinois  valley,  but  although  some  coal  was  sent 
from  the  interior  to  Chicago,  Pennsylvania  coal,  in  consequence  of  its 
superior  quality  and  cheap  lake  transportation,  dominated  the  market. 
The  following  table4  shows  the  leading  items  in  the  canal  trade  between 
1850  and  1865,  together  with  the  amounts  transported: 

Corn,  bushels 83 ,204 ,570 

Oats,  bushels 15 ,040 ,447 

Wxheat,  bushels 8,728,161 

Flour,  barrels 829 ,228 

Bacon .  pounds 10 ,309 ,838 

Pork,  barrels 155 ,953 

Whiskey  and  high  wines,  barrels 65,986 

Lumber,  feet 1 ,022,708,754 

Shingles  and  lath,  number 754,960,791 

Merchandise,  pounds 77 ,  160 ,555 

Iron  and  steel,  pounds 8 ,888 ,  186 

Iron— pig  and  scrap,  pounds 22 ,967 ,580 

Stoves  and  hollow  ware;  pounds 11,222,387 

Agricultural  implements,  pounds 7,749,252 

Machinery,  pounds 5 ,  593 ,  91 7 

Sugar,  pounds 45 ,907 ,586 

Salt,  barrels 628 ,776 

Molasses,  pounds 14 ,519,385 

Coal,  tons 192 ,975 

Stone,  cubic  yards 955,779 

The  canal  made  travel  to  the  Illinois  valley  less  expensive  and  more 
agreeable.  The  trip  between  Chicago  and  Peru  was  four  hours  shorter 
than  it  had  been  by  stage,  and  the  fare  upon  the  best  boats  was  only 
four  dollars  including  meals  and  berth.  A  slower  line  of  freight  and 
emigrant  packets  charged  two  to  three  dollars.5  Three  packets  started 
daily  from  each  end  of  the  canal  in  1849,6  during  which  year  the  travel 
was  equivalent  to  26,446  passengers  carried  its  entire  length.7  At  Peru 
the  traveller  could  secure  steamboat  transportation  to  St.  Louis  for  from 
three  to  five  dollars.8 


1  Annual  Report  of  Board  of  Trustees,  1865,  pp.  50-51. 

2  The  canal  made  Chicago  the  leading  corn  market  as  well  as  the  leading  market  for  lumber.  In  1851 
the  lake  ports  that  shipped  east  most  heavily  through  the  Erie  canal  and  the  quantities  of  corn  they  con- 
tributed were: 

Chicago 2 ,351 ,888  bushels. 

Toledo 1 ,828,502  bushels. 

Cleveland 458 , 502  bushels. 

Detroit 223 ,204  bushels. 

Benton:    Johns  Hopkins  University  Studies,  Series  XXI,  Nos.  1-2,  p.  103. 

3  Annual  Report  of  Board  of  Trustees,  1855,  pp.  50-51. 

4  Idem. 

5  Curtiss:    Western  Portraiture,  p.  62;  Industrial  Chicago,  V.  4,  p.  299. 
8  Chicago  Daily  Democrat,  Mav  3,  1849. 

7  Report  of  Board  of  Trustees,  1849,  p.  10. 

8  Curtiss:    Western  Portraiture,  p.  76. 


BARROWS.]  SETTLEMENT  AND  DEVELOPMENT.  97 

Influence  of  the  canal  upon  the  course  of  trade. — The  opening  of  the 
Illinois  and  Michigan  canal  precipitated  a  struggle  between  Chicago  and 
St.  Louis  for  the  trade  of  the  Illinois  valley  and  the  West.  It  was  gener- 
ally anticipated  that  the  greal  bulk  of  the  produce  of  the  valley  Avould 
move  eastward,  and  thai  Chicago  would  become  the  great  depot  for  the 
Illinois  river.1  St.  Louis  was  accordingly  opposed  to  the  canal  project,3 
and  even  the  merchants  of  New  Orleans  were  alarmed.3 

For  some  three  years  following  the  opening  of  the  canal,  St.  Louis 
prices  were  in  general  higher  than  those  at  Chicago,  and  in  consequence 
the  greater  part  of  the  grain,  meat,  and  flour  of  the  Illinois  valley  went 
south;  canal  boats  coming  from  Chicago  with  lumber,  merchandise,  and 
salt  were  at  times  unable  to  secure  return  cargoes  along  the  Illinois 
river.4  A  similar  situation  occurred  in  1856  because  of  a  partial  crop 
failure  in  some  of  the  southern  states.5  This  illustrates  the  tremendous 
advantage  to  the  valley  of  the  new  order  of  things;  there  was  now  a 
choice  of  markets,  and  its  produce  could  be  sent  wherever  it  would  bring 
the  largest  returns.  The  course  of  trade  during  the  years  mentioned 
proved  the  exceptional  rather  than  the  normal  thing.  In  general  the, 
results  that  had  been  anticipated  were  realized,  and  the  trade  of  the 
Illinois  river  was  reversed,  Chicago  becoming  its  great  market.6  The 
leading  commercial  journal  of  the  West  noted  in  1852  that  "as  a  grain 
market,  St.  Louis  is  becoming  less  and  less  important."7  That  year 
Chicago  received  nearly  four  times  as  much  corn  as  St.  Louis,  practically 
all  of  it  by  the  canal.8 

It  is  not  to  be  understood  that  the  diversion  of  trade  under  discus- 
sion was  brought  about  entirely  by  the  Illinois  and  Michigan  canal, 
nor  that  it  was  confined  to  Illinois.  The  canal  began  it,  so  far  as  middle 
Illinois  was  concerned,  but  it  was  continued  on  a  vaster  scale  by  the  rail- 
roads that,  in  the  fifties,  were  built  west  from  Chicago.  A  similar  change 
was  in  progress  in  adjacent  states.  The  Wabash  and  Erie  canal  reversed 
the  trade  of  the  Wabash  valley,  and  relieved  Indiana  of  all  economic  de- 
pendence on  the  southwest.0  The  shipments  to  the  north  on  the  Ohio 
canals  were  greatly  in  excess  of  those  to  the  south.10  New  Orleans  was 
dt  scribed  in  1850  as  a  city  which  "once  the  emporium  and  mart  of  the 
immense  empire  of  the  west,  sees  her  commercial  rank  and  position  fad- 
ing away."11  Ten  years  later  the  receipts  of  grain  at  Chicago  were  nearly 
ten  times  those  at  New  Orleans.12 


1  Western  Journal,  V.  6,  pp.  167-168;  Hoffman:    A  Winter  in  the  Far  West,  V.  2,  p.  59. 

2  Western  Journal,  V.  6,  pp.  167-168;  Chicago  Daily  Democrat,  January  27,  1849. 

3  Idem,  November  24,  1848. 

1  Annual  Report  of  Board  of  Canal  Trustees,  1848,  pp.  155-156;  1850,  pp.  8-9,  86;  Western  Journal,  V. 
6,  pp.  167-168,  170. 

B  Chicago  Magazine,  V.  I,  p.  275. 

8  De  Bow's  Review,  V.  15,  p.  374;  Curtiss:  Western  Portraiture,  pp.  45, 47;  Gould's  Peoria  Directory, 
1880-1,  p.  3. 

7  De  Bow's  Review,  V.  14,  p.  394. 

8  Chicago's  receipts  were  2,999,011  bushels  (Peyton:  Statistical  View  of  Illinois,  p.  39),  and  St.  Louis' 
755,258  bushels  (Eighth  Census,  Agriculture,  p.  clvi). 

9  Benton:    Johns  Hopkins  University  Studies,  Series  XXI,  Nos.  1-2,  pp.  104-105. 

10  Eighth  Census,  Agriculture,  p.  clviii. 

11  Western  Journal  and  Civilian,  N.  S.,  V.  I.,  pp.  4-6,  113. 

12  Eighth  Census,  Agriculture,  pp.  clvii,  clviii. 


7  G 


98  THE   MIDDLE   ILLINOIS   VALLEY.  [bull.  no.  15 

A  number  of  considerations  had  enabled  the  Illinois  and  Michigan 
canal  to  reverse  the  trade  of  the  Illinois  valley,  some"  of  which  explain  in 
part  the  corresponding  change  in  neighboring  areas.  (1)  It  was  cheaper 
to  ship  grain  in  bulk  by  canal  boats,  than  in  sacks  (the  usual  method) 
by  steamboats.1  (2)  The  facilities  for  receiving  and  forwarding  grain  at 
Chicago  were  superior  to  those  at  St.  Louis.  Chicago  had  twelve  large 
grain  warehouses  by  1857  and  charged  lower  storage  and  commission 
fees.2  (3)  It  was  said  that  grain  could  be  shipped  from  a  point  on  the 
Illinois  river  to  Chicago  as  cheaply  as  to  St.  Louis,  and  that  the  charges 
from  Chicago  to  New  York  were  not  greater  than  those  from  New 
Orleans  to  New  York.  This,  if  true,  obviously  gave  Chicago  the  very 
considerable  advantage  of  the  freight  charged  between  St,  Louis  and 
New  Orleans.3  In  the  middle  fifties  (1854),  long  distance  freight  rates 
on  the  Great  Lakes'  were  only  about  one-half  as  high  as  on  the  western 
rivers.4  (4)  Save  in  exceptional  years  the  prices  of  farm  products  were 
higher  and  those  of  merchandise  lower  in  Chicago  than  at  the  Missis- 
sippi river  cities  (p.  83).  (5)  There  was  danger  in  summer  of  the  grain 
being  heated  and  damaged  in  the  warehouses  of  New  Orleans,  and  during 
its  passage  through  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  (6)  Transportation  by  the  round- 
about southern  route  took  much  longer.  (7)  The  superiority  of  New  York 
over  New  Orleans  as  an  importing  point,  due  in  large  part  to  its  relative 
nearness  to  Europe,  and  its  unparalleled  connections  with  the  interior  by 
way  of  the  Hudson-Mohawk  depression  and  the  Great  Lakes,  made  it 
also  a  more  desirable  exporting  point,  since  the  competing  ocean  lines 
offered  lower  freight  rates.5 

By  making  it  the  gateway  of  the  Illinois  valley,  the  Illinois  and  Mich- 
igan canal  became  a  powerful  factor  in  the  growth  of  Chicago.6  The 
imports  of  the  city  increased  from  about  two  and  one-half  millions  in 
1847  to  over  eight  and  one-quarter  millions  in  1848,  the  first  year  of 
the  canal.  The  exports  increased  from  a  little  over  two  and  a  quarter 
to  nearly  ten  and  three-quarters  millions  in  the  same  time.7  The  canal 
helped  Chicago  to  become,  in  the  early  fifties,  the  largest  grain  and 
lumber  market  in  the  world.8  The  population  of  the  city  rose  from 
16,859  in  18479  to  60,652  in  1853.10 

1  Brown:    Drainage  Channel  and  Waterway,  p.  205. 

2  Chicago  Magazine,  V.  I,  p.  275. 

3  De  Bow's  Review,  V.  14,  p.  394. 

4  Idem,  V.  19,  pp.  196-197;  V.  20,  pp.  80-81. 
6  Eighth  Census,  Agriculture,  p.  clvii. 

6  Chicago  Magazine,  V.  I,  p.  389. 

7  De  Bow's  Review,  V.  13,  p.  198. 

8  Peyton:    Statistical  View  of  Illinois,  p.  43. 

9  De  Bow's  Review,  V.  13,  p.  198. 

10  Peyton:    Statistical  View  of  Illinois,  p.  36. 

The  development  of  a  commercial  city  near  the  end  of  Lake  Michigan  that  should  serve  as  a  point 
of  contact  between  the  manufacturing  and  commercial  east,  and  the  agricultural  west,  was  inevitable. 
The  harbor  afforded  by  the  Chicago  river  and  the  line  of  the  old  Chicago  Outlet  determined  its  exact 
location.  Although  the  harbor  was  an  indifferent  one,  it  gained  value  from  the  very  paucity  of  natural 
harbors  along  the  Lake  Michigan  coast.  The  advantages  of  this  situation  were  not  generally  recognized, 
however,  until  after  the  opening  of  the  Illinois  and  Michigan  canal.  In  1823  Major  Long  declared  that 
Chicago  not  only  then  offered  no  inducements  to  business  men,  but  was  likely  at  all  times  to  have  a  limited 
trade.  (Niles'  Register,  V.  57,  p.  35.)  A  leading  commercial  writer,  as  late  as  1843,  thought  that  the  com- 
mercial metropolis  of  the  Great  Lakes  was  to  develop  on  Maumee  Bay,  Lake  Erie,  and  that  the  most 
Chicago  could  reasonably  hope  for  was  second  place.  (J.  W.  Scott:  Hunt's  Merchants'  Magazine,  V. 9, 
p.  46.)  The  events  resulting  from  the  opening  of  the  canal  and  the  building  of  Chicago's  first  railroads, 
revealed  the  city  in  its  true  light,  however,  and  led  to  the  declaration  in  1855  that  Chicago  "is  destined 
to  be  not  simply  the  first  city  in  the  Mississippi  valley,  but  with  probably  three  exceptions  the  first  city 
on  the  continent."    (Peyton:    Statistical  View  of  Illinois,  p.  48.) 


barrows.]       settlement  and  development.  99 

Influence  of  the  River  and  Canal  Upon  Population  and 

Products. 

A  comparison  of  the  census  returns  for  1840  and  1850  brings  out 
clearly  the  influence  of  the  Illinois  river  and  the  canal  upon  the  develop- 
ment of  the  counties  with  which  this  report  is  chiefly  concerned.  The 
population  of  these  six  river  counties  increased  154  per  cent  during  the 
decade  in  question.1  In  the  same  time  the  population  of  the  three  inland 
counties  bordering  them  on  the  east  and  southeast  increased  only  74 
per  cent,2  and  that  of  the  four  inland  counties  touching  them  on  the  north 
and  northwest,  118  per  cent,3  The  population  of  the  State  as  a  whole 
increased  78  per  cent  during  these  years.  Not  simply  were  the  river 
counties  growing  faster  than  those  on  either  hand,  but  within  the  former 
the  townships  near  the  great  waterway  were  in  general  most  densely 
settled  and  gaining  most  rapidly.  While  this  statement  may  be  made 
with  confidence,  the  census  reports  permit  anything  like  exact  compari- 
sons between  townships  only  in  Bureau  county.  There  the  six  south- 
easternmost  townships  (See  Fig.  39)  contained  about  38  per  cent  of 
the  population  of  the  county,  in  spite  of  the  considerable  areas  withdrawn 
from  occupation  by  flood-plain  and  bluff  lands,  while  the  remaining  62 
per  cent  were  scattered  in  nineteen  townships.4 

The  influence  of  the  waterway  is  shown  in  another  way.  In  1850  there 
were  nearly  1,000  more  farms  in  the  six  river  counties  than  in  the  ad- 
joining seven  inland  counties.5  The  average  cash  value  of  farm  land 
in  the  river  counties  was  $9.78  per  acre;  in  the  four  inland  counties  to 
the  northwest  it  was  $8.69;  and  in  the  three  to  the  southeast,  $8.09.6 
15.6  per  cent  of  the  area  of  the  six  river  counties  was  improved  land,  but 
only  9.9  per  cent  of  the  inland  counties.7 

The  differences  noted  between  the  river  and  inland  counties  disap- 
peared in  the  next  decade  when  the  building  of  railroads  led  to  the  rapid 
settlement  of  the  great  interstream  prairies. 

The  Decline  of  River  and  Canal  Commerce, 

Rate  and  extent  of  decline. — The  year  1855  has  been  taken  as  mark- 
ing the  close  of  the  period  of  steamboat  supremacy  in  the  trade  of  the 
Illinois  valley  (p.  91).  The  following  years  witnessed  an  extraordinary 
decline  in  river  trade.  By  1870  only  four  steamboats,  a  pitiful  remnant 
of  the  great  fleet  of  the  iate  forties,  ran  regularly  between  St.  Louis  and 
Peoria,  and  but  one  of  these  four  extended  its  trips  to  LaSalle.8    Seven 

1  Illinois  Blue  Book,  1900,  Tables,  pp.  287-288. 

2  Idem. 

3  Idem. 

4  The  census  does  not  give  the  population  of  any  of  the  six  southeastern  townships,  but  fortunately 
does  give  that  of  all  the  others  with  a  single  exception.  The  above  comparison  is  only  approximately 
•correct,  since  it  ignores  the  missing  township  and  credits  the  six  in  the  southeast  with  the  difference 
between  the  total  population  of  the  county  and  that  of  the  eighteen  townships  reported.  (Seventh 
(Vnsus,  pp.  703-704.) 

5  Compendium  Seventh  Census,  Tables,  pp.  220-229. 

6  Seventh  Census,  pp.  728-729. 

7  Idem. 

8  Ballance:    History  of  Peoria,  p.  159. 


100  THE    MIDDLE   ILLINOIS   VALLEY.  [bull.  no.  15 

jDer  cent  only  of  the  units  of  freight  received  at  Peoria  in  1875  came  by 
the  river.1  Four  years  later  Peoria  received  about  forty  thousand  tons 
of  freight  by  river;  this  was  but  a  little  over  five  per  cent  of  the  total 
amount  received.2  The  next  year  (1880)  only  two  steamboats  made  reg- 
ular trips  between  Peoria  and  St.  Louis.3  A  writer  of  the  eighties 
thought  it  unlikely  that  water  transportation  would  again  be  a  necessity 
for  years  to  come.4 

A  similar  decrease  occurred  in  the  trade  of  the  Illinois  and  Michigan 
canal.  It  was  described  within  nine  years  of  its  completion  (1857)  as 
an  "old  fogy  institution."5  The  tolls  increased,  however,  with  much 
variation  from  year  to  year,  until  the  middle  sixties,  and  its  tonnage  until 
the  early  eighties  (Figs.  41  and  42)  ;  after  that  its  business  rapidly 
diminished  and  has  now  practically  ceased. 

Causes  of  decline  of  water  trade. — This  decline  in  water  traffic  was 
brought  about  primarily  by  the  competition  of  the  railroads  and  the 
shallowness,  during  many  summers,  of  the  Illinois  river.  Various  other 
factors  contributed  to  the  triumph  of  the  railroad,  however,  especially 
(1)  the  short  season  open  to  navigation  ;  (2)  the  slowness  of  water  trans- 
portation :  (3)  the  lack  of  cooperation  between  river  and  canal  service; 
(4)  the  limited  capacity  of  the  canal;  (5)  the  losses  involved  in  steam- 
boat navigation;  and  finally  (6)  unreasonable  wharfage  charges,  and 
over-competition  in  river  trade.  (1)  The  upper  Mississippi  and  its  tribu- 
taries were  closed  by  ice  four  months  or  more  each  year.6  The  canal  was 
open  on  the  average  only  237  days  each  year  between  1848  and  1900.7 
This  suspension  of  traffic  was  of  course  very  disadvantageous;  the  rail- 
roads were  able  from  the  outset  to  monopolize  business  for  a  considerable 
fraction  of  the  year.  (2)  The  best  steamboats  on  the  Illinois  river  re- 
quired twenty  to  thirty  hours  for  the  trip  from  Peru  to  St.  Louis.8  The 
canal  boats  depended  upon  animal  towage  which  meant  slow,  tedious 
travel,  and  usually  involved  delays  in  the  harbor  at  Chicago  and  at  La- 
Salle,  while  waiting  for  steam  vessels  to  tow  them.9  The  canal  accord- 
ingly lost  its  entire  passenger  business  when  the  Chicago,  Rock  Island, 
and  Pacific  Railroad  opened  parallel  to  it  in  1853.  The  preceding  year 
travel  on  the  canal  had  been  equivalent  to  25,966  passengers  through  its 
entire  length.10  The  middle  Illinois  river  also  lost  much  of  its  passenger 
trade  Following  the  opening  of  the  railroad  from  Peoria  to  Bureau  in 
1854  (Fig.  44).  Furthermore,  the  superior  speed  of  the  railroad 
secured  it  the  transportation  of  all  perishable  and  highly  manufactured 
articles.  The  waterway  could  only  hope  to  compete  in  the  movement  of 
heavy,  bulky,  and  non-perishable  commodities.     (3)    Through  business  on 


1  Sixth  Annual  Report  of  Trade  and  Commerce  of  Peoria,  pp.  52-53. 

2  Gould's  Peoria  Directory,  1880-1,  p.  4. 

3  History  of  Peoria  County,  p.  528. 

4  Gould:'    History  of  River  Navigation,  p.  745. 
■'  Chicago  Magazine,  V.  T,  p.  389. 

6  Hall:     The  West;  Its  Commerce  and  Navigation,  pp.  96-97. 

7  Annual  Report  Canal  Commissioners,  1902,  p.  31. 

8  Curtiss:    Western  Portraiture,  p.  76;  Ellet:    Summer  Rambles  in  the  West,  pp.  234-235. 

9  As  late  as  1876  only  twenty-two  steam  canal  boats  were  in  use.  Annual  Report  Canai  Commissioners,. 
1876,  pp.  5-6. 

10  Annual  Report  of  Board  of  Canal  Trustees,  1853,  p.  9. 


BARROWS.) 


SETTLEMENT  AND  DEVELOPMENT 


Fig.  42.    Graph  showing  tons  transported  on  Illinois  and  Michigan  canal  from  1849  to  1907. 


102  THE    MIDDLE    ILLINOIS   VALLEY.  [bull.  no.  15 

the  waterway  was  inhibited  for  the  want  of  a  line  of  steamboats  on  the 
river  running  in  connection  with  the  packets  on  the  canal.  Boats  plying 
between  St.  Louis  and  Peru  had  no  regular  days  of  starting.  The  need 
of  remedying  this  defect  was  promptly  pointed  out,1  but  a  number  of 
years  appear  to  have  elapsed  before  it  was  accomplished.  (4)  The  canal 
could  not  accommodate  boats  of  more  than  four  feet  eight  inches  draft, 
'carrying  a  maximum  load  of  about  one  hundred  fifty  tons.  Even  this 
was  not  possible  when  the  water  supply  was  deficient.  (5).  Losses  were 
heavy  in  steamboat  navigation  from  boilers  bursting,  machinery  break- 
ing, and  from  other  causes.  Boats  were  destroyed  not  infrequently,  and 
the  usual  insurance  rate  on  steamboats  was  from  ten  to  twelve  per  cent 
per  annum.2  (6)  The  facility  with  which  boats  could  be  built  was  said 
to  have  led  to  over-competition  in  the  river  trade,  and  wharfage  extor- 
tions and  discriminations  were  complained  of  at  times.3  It  is  difficult 
to  judge  of  the  importance  of  these  charges. 

The  canal  officials  repeatedly  declared  the  greatest  cause  for  the  de- 
cline of  water  traffic  to  be  the  shallowness  of  the  Illinois  river.  It  will 
be  remembered  that  the  Illinois  is  an  aggrading  river  that  is  attempt- 
ing, through  deposition,  to  form  a  channel  suited  to  the  small  volume 
of  water  which  it  has  had  since  it  ceased  to  be  the  outlet  of  Lake  Chicago. 
Bars  formed,4  especially  off  the  mouths  of  tributaries,  upon  which  at 
times  there  was  not  more  than  twenty  inches  of  water.  This  was  the 
case,  for  example,  from  the  middle  of  June  until  November  in  1856 
when,  in  consequence,  navigation  on  the  river  was  virtually  suspended 
for  nearly  six  months.5  The  lowest  water  appears  to  have  been  reported 
in  1867,  when  there  was  only  sixteen  to  eighteen  inches  on  many  of  the 
bars.6  Again  steamboats  could  ascend  to  Peoria  or  Henry,  but  were 
prevented  by  low  water  from  going  further.7  At  such  times  traffic  on  the 
navigable  portion  of  the  river  was  forced  to  move  to  the  south.8  S'uch 
difficulties  from  low  water,  furthermore,  were  of  frequent  occurrence. 
The  river  was  almost  closed  to  steamboats  in  18419  and  in  1845.10  The 
officials  of  the  canal  complained  of  loss  of  business  because  of  low  water 
in  1851,  1852,  1853,  1854,  1856,11  and  frequently  thereafter.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  very  satisfactory  returns  of  the  year  1865  in  comparison 
to  the  immediately  preceding  years  (Fig.  41),  were  attributed  almost 
entirely  to  the  unusually  high  water  in  the  Illinois  river  throughout  the 
season  of  navigation.12  In  1854  the' canal  commissioners  wrote:  "It  is 
not  the  competition  by  railroad  that  the  canal  has  to  fear ;  it  is  the  want 
at  times  of  sufficient  water  in  the  Illinois  river.  With  that  avenue  avail- 
able for  boats  drawing  four  feet  of  water  for  the  eight  or  nine  months 


1  Chicago  Daily  Democrat,  November  24,  1848. 

2  Gould:    History  of  River  Navigation,  pp.  581,  584. 

3  Idem. 

4  Annual  Report  Canal  Commissioners,  1876,  pp.  13-14;  1890,  p.  35. 
E  Annual  Report  of  Board  of  Canal  Trustees,  1856,  p.  83. 

6  Idem,  1867,  p.  51. 

7  Flagg:    The  Far  West,  V.  I,  p.  110;  Annual  Report  of  Board  of  Canal  Trustees,  1852,  pp.  97, 167-168. 

8  Chicago  Daily  Democrat,  December  4,  1848. 
0  Niles'  Register,  V.  62,  p.  87. 

10  De  Bow's  Review,  V.  I,  p.  148. 

11  Annual  Report  of  Board  of  Canal  Commissioners,  1851,  pp.  11-12;  1852,  pp.  97,  167-168;  1853,  p.  8; 
1854,  p.  12;  1856,  p.  83. 

12  Idem,  1865,  p.  10. 


BARROWS.] 


SETTLEMENT  AND  DEVELOPMENT. 


103 


of  the  year  in  which  the  canal  is  available,  there  would  be  nothing  fur- 
liici  thai  the  friends  of  the  canal  would  have  to  ask;  but  so  long  as  the 
I  Hindis  river  remains  in  its  present  condition,  unimproved,  either  by  the 
State  or  the  United  States,  so  long  will  the  canal  lie  idle  comparatively 
one-half  of  its  season  of  navigation."1  Again  in  1876  the  canal  commis- 
sioners declared  thai  "the  large  through  lumber  and  grain  trade  that 
formerly  passed  over  this  route  has  nearly  all  been  diverted  into  other 
channels  by  reason  of  low  water,  and  the  formation  of  bars  in  the  Illi- 
nois river  during  the  past  fewr  years."2 

Because  of  the  economic  disadvantages  noted  above,  the  river  and 
canal  were  totally  unable  to  meet  the  competition  of  the  railroads.  In 
the  discussion  of  the  other  causes  for  the  decline  of  the  once  great  water- 
way, it  was  seen  that  the  railroad  secured  not  simply  the  passenger  trade 


Fig.  43.    Map  showing  railroads  of  IlliiivX 
in  1850. 


Fig.  44.    Map  showing  railroads  of  Illinois 
in  I860. 


and  the  traffic  in  perishable  and  highly  manufactured  articles,  which  - 
passed  to  it  logically,  but  finally  also  the  trade  in  lumber  and  grain, 
which  because  of  their  weight  and  bulk  and  its  lower  rates,  the  water 
course  might  have  been  expected  to  retain.  In  a  word,  the  history  of  the 
later  transportation   lines  upon   the  Illinois   river   is   a   record   of   the 

1  Annual  Report  Canal  Commissioners,  1854,  p.  11. 

2  Idem,  1876,  pp.  13-14.  '      »  '    ■ 
Impressed  with  its  very  gentle  current  (a  consequence  of  the  low  grade  developed  by  the  Outlet 

river)  and  with  the  general  absence  of  the  snags  so  characteristic  of  the  Mississippi  and  Missouri  rivers, 
earlier  writers  described  the  Illinois  as  the  easiest  river  to  navigate  in  the  country,  especially  in  going 
up-stream.  Thwaites:  Early  Western  Travels,  V.  9,  p.  190;  Western  Monthly  Magazine,  V.  5,  p.  336; 
Publication  No.  8  of  the  Historical  Library  of  Illinois,  p.  164;  Peck:    Guide  for  Emigrants,  p.  330. 


104  THE    MIDDLE    ILLINOIS    VALLEY.  [BULL.  NO.  15 

triumph  of  the  locomotive  over  the  steamboat.  The  famous  "Five  Day 
Line"  of  steamboats,  organized  in  1852  to  run  between  St.  Louis  and 
LaSalle,  did  a  thriving  business  until  the  railroad  appeared,  but  a  few- 
years  of  railroad  competition  destroyed  it,1  The  Illinois  River  Packet 
Company  appeared  in  the  field  in  1858  and  made  a  vigorous  effort  to 
meet  the  competition  of  the  railroad,  but  failed  and  sold  its  boats  to  a 
new  organization  which,  in  about  two  years,  was  in  turn  forced  to  con- 
fess defeat.2  The  Naples  Packet  Line  conducted  a  successful  river  trade 
for  a  longer  time,  but  only  because  it  was  run  in  connection  with  the  rail- 
road extending  from  Springfield  to  the  Illinois  river  at  Naples  (Fig. 
43).  This  was  for  a  time  the  only  route  from  the  Sangamon  country 
to  St.  Louis  except  by  stage,  and  was  therefore  very  popular.3 

The  railroad  was  credited  by  some  with  the  conquest  of  the  Illinois 
and  Michigan  canal  as  early  as  1857.4  Reading  the  yearly  reports  of 
the  canal  officials,  however,  one  is  impressed  with  their  conviction  that 
the  fundamental  cause  for  the  eclipse  of  the  waterway  was  the  unfavor- 
able condition  of  the  Illinois  river,  and  that  if  the  latter  were  improved, 
the  canal  might  successfully  compete  for  the  transportation  of  certain 
classes  of  freight  (pp.  102-103)  .5  It  is  worthy  of  special  note  that  physio- 
graphic processes  were  held  chiefly  responsible  for  the  decline  of  one  of 
the  greatest  commercial  routes  in  the  West. 

Although  their  trade  had  departed,  the  river  and  canal  continued  to 
be  of  tremendous  importance  to  the  people  of  Illinois  as  regulators  of 
railroad  rates   (p.  108). 

The  effect  upon  the  river  towns  of  the  passing  of  the  steamboat. — ■ 
The  Illinois  river  towns  that  obtained  good  railroad  connections  did  not 
surfer  greatly  from  the  decline  of  river  trade.  This  was  especially  true 
of  Peoria,  which  became  a  great  railroad  center  for  the  same  reasons 
that  it  had  before  been  an  important  road  center  (p.  89),  and  which 
also  developed  extensive  manufacturing  interests.  It  was  true  to  less 
extent  of  Pekin.  To  every  other  river  town  within  the  area  considered 
in  the  report,  the  passage  of  the  steamboat  was  a  serious  blow,  and  sev- 
eral suffered  an  actual  decrease  in  population. 

De  Pue  had  been  the  great  shipping  point  for  an  extensive  area  west 
of  the  river  (p.  87),  and  enjoyed  a  large  trade  until  near  the  close 
of  the  fifties.  By  that  time  the  back  country  had  important  railroad 
lines  (Fig.  44),  and  the  farmers  ceased  to  haul  grain  to  the  river  with 
its  decreasing  shipping  facilities.  The  trade  of  DePue,  except  from  the 
immediate  vicinity,  soon  ceased,  and  in  1884  the  place  was  described 
as  a  "queer  little  delapidated  village/'  many  of  whose  inhabitants  de- 
pended on  the  lake  for  a  living,  fishing  by  summer  and  packing  ice  for 
one  of  the  St.  Louis  breweries  by  winter.6 


1  Gould:    History  of  River  Navigation,  pp.  522-523. 

2  History  of  Peoria  County,  p.  527;  Gould:    History  of  River  Navigation,  pp.  523-524. 

3  Idem,    pp.    521-522,523. 

*  Hunt's  Merchants'  Magazine,  V.  37,  p.  376;  Chicago  Magazine,  V.  I,  p.  389. 

6  Typical  discussions  of  the  matter  mav  be  found  in  the  Annual  Reports  of  the  Board  of  Canal  Trus- 
tees for  1853,  pp.  8,  9;  1854,  pp.  11-12,  65-66;  1867,  p.  7;  1868,  pp.  98-99. 

6  Bradsby:    History  of  Bureau  County,  p.  436;  The  Taxpayers  and  Voters  of  Bureau  County,  p.  159. 


barrows.]  SETTLEMENT  AND  DEVELOPMENT.  105 

Hennepin  (p.  8G)  experienced  a  decline  similar  to  that  of  DePue. 
It  had  a  population  of  711  in  1857,  and  a  large  commerce/  but  having 
lost  its  river  trade  and  being  without  any  railroad,  each  census  since 
I860  has  recorded  a  decrease   in  population,  that  of   1900  being  only 

The  population  statistics  of  Henry  tell  of  a  period  of  rapid  growth 
under  the  influence  of  river  trade,  and  of  one  of  relative  stagnation  fol- 
lowing the  passing  of  the  steamboat.  The  substantial  growth  of  the 
place  began  in  1844  (p.  87)  with  the  multiplication  of  steamboats 
above  Peoria.  It  contained  400  people  in  1850. 3  During  the  next  six 
years  the  population  increased  over  four  fold,  reaching  1,664  in  1856.4 
Since  the  loss  of  its  river  trade,  the  town  has  been  essentially  at  a  stand- 
still, having  in  1900  only  1,637  inhabitants.5  The  story  is  again  re- 
peated, in  principle,  in  the  case  of  Lacon.  In  the  late  fifties  this  place 
had  nearly  2,000  inhabitants,6  but  it  was  nearly  stationary  between 
1860  and  1870,  and  since  the  latter  date  it  has  steadily  lost.7  Lacon's 
railroad  service  is  far  less  satisfactory  than  that  of .  Henry,  since  it  is 
situated  at  the  end  of  a  branch  line. 

The  decay  of  Spring  Bay  (p.  87)  is  particularly  striking.  In  its 
best  days,  it  is  said  to  have  had  eight  or  nine  grain  warehouses  to  which 
practically  all  the  farmers  of  Woodford  county  hauled  their  grain.  In 
the  spring  eight  or  nine  steamboats  might  be  seen  at  the  levee  at  a 
single  time  loading  for  the  down-river  market.  The  disappearance  of 
the  steamboats  and  the  opening  of  railroads  to  the  east  of  Spring  Bay, 
running  parallel  to  the  river,  proved  a  death  blow  to  the  town.  Most 
of  the  inhabitants  moved  away,  and  the  last  warehouse  was  destroyed 
years  ago.8  Chillicothe  (p.  87)  has  had  a  happier  history.  Like  the 
other  river  towns  mentioned,  it  suffered  from  the  loss  of  its  river  grain 
trade,  but  it  wras  fortunate  in  later  becoming  a  junction  point  between 
two  important  railroads.  Its  population  accordingly  increased  rapidly 
between  1880  and  1890,  but  it  has  been  nearly  stationary  since.9 

Attempts  to  Improve  the  Navigation  of  the  Illinois  River. 

The  improvement  of  the  navigation  of  the  Illinois  river  was  urged 
for  many  years.  Governor  Ford  caused  the  first  survey  of  the  river  to 
be  made  in  1835,  with  a  view  to  its  improvement.10  Steamboat  owners 
advocated  in   1848   the   improvement  of   the   channel   by   a   system   of 


1  Ford:    History  of  Putnam  and  Marshall  Counties,  p.  89. 

2  Twelfth  Census,  Population,  V.  1,  p.  444.  In  1860  the  population  was  1132  (Eighth  Census,  Popu 
lation,  p.  99);  in  1880,  623  (Tenth  Census,  Population,  p.  141);  1890,  574  (Twelfth  Census,  V.  I,  p.  129). 

3  Seventh  Census  p.  cxv. 

*  Hawes:    Illinois  State  Gazetteer  (1858-9),  p.  107. 

6  Twelfth  Census,  Population,  V.  I,  p.  444.  The  population  in  1860  was  1800  (Ford:  History  of 
Putnam  and  Marshall  Counties,  p.  114);  in  1870, 2162  (Ninth  Census,  Population,  p.  116);  1880, 1728  (Tenth 
Census   Population,  p.  139);  1890,  1512  (Twelfth  Census,  V.  I,  p.  126). 

8  Hawes:    Illinois  State  Gazetteer  (1858-9),  p.  123. 

7  Population  1870,  2105  (Ninth  Census,  Population,  p.  116);  1880,  1814  (Tenth  Census,  Population, 
p.  139);  1890,  1649  and  1900,  1601  (Twelfth  Census,  V.  I,  p.  126). 

8  Population  1860,  515  (Eighth  Census,  Population,  p.  101);  1900,  128  (Twelfth  Census,  V.  I.  p.  133). 

9  Population  1880,  936  (Tenth  Census,  Population,  p.  140);  1890, 1632  and  1900, 1699  (Twelfth  Census, 
V.  I,  p.  128). 

10  Brown:    Drainage  Channel  and  Waterway,  p.  260. 


106  THE    MIDDLE    ILLINOIS   VALLEY.  [bull.  no.  15 

dredging/  and  in  1852  the  federal  government  made  its  first  appropri- 
ation for  that  purpose.2  The  experiences  of  the  year  1853,  however, 
were  said  to  have  first  forced  the  general  public  to  recognize  the  dis- 
agreeable fact  that  the  river  required  human  aid.3  The  trustees  of  the 
canal  yearly  urged  river  improvements,  declaring  that  unless  they  were 
undertaken  the  canal  must  continue  of  secondary  importance,  both  as 
a  producer  of  revenue  for  the  State  and  as  a  channel  for  trade,  and  that 
if  they  were  made,  a  steady  increase  from  year  to  year  in  the  business 
of  the  canal  might  confidently  be  expected.4  During  the  Civil  War  the 
improvement  of  navigation  between  Lake  Michigan  and  the  Mississippi 
river  was  urged  as  a  military  measure.  A  bill  introduced  with  this 
object  early  in  1862  failed  after  having  been  before  the  House  for  nearly 
a  year,  through  the  votes  of  Ohio  and  Indiana,  whose  representatives 
claimed  that  its  military  features  were  altogether  subordinate,  and  that 
it  was  really  an  attempt  to  benefit  a  single  state  commercially  at  the  ex- 
pense of  the  whole  country.5  The  attitude  of  Ohio  and  Indiana  prob- 
ably had  a  geographic  basis,  since  from  their  locations  these  states  were 
rivals  of  Illinois  for  the  control  of  commerce  passing  between  the  Great 
Lakes  and  the  western  rivers.  In  his  message  of  January  5,  1863,  Gover- 
nor Yates  recommended  that  the  General  Assembly  memorialize  Congress 
in  relation  to  the  projected  improvement,  and  maintained  that  it  should 
be  undertaken  as  a  military  necessity,  as  an  aid  to  commercial,  manu- 
facturing, and  agricultural  interests,  and  because  it  would  serve  as  a 
bond  of  union  between  the  different  sections  of  the  country.6 

Aside  from  dredging  to  overcome  bars,  the  first  improvement  of  im- 
portance was  the  Henry  lock  and  dam,  built  by  the  State.  A  committee 
of  the  State  Legislature  had  recommended  a  system  of  locks  and  dams 
as  early  as  1848,7  but  the  improvement  at  Henry  was  not  definitely  pro- 
vided for  until  1867.8  The  lock  was  first  used  in  January,  1872.  The 
river  business  of  that  year  was  disappointing,  nevertheless,  the  supposed 
cause  being  the  unusually  low  water  in  the  Illinois,  and  four  more 
locks  and  dams  between  Henry  and  the  mouth  of  the  river  were  urged.9 
Another  lock  and  dam  was  later  built  by  the  state  and  federal  govern- 
ments at  Copperas  creek,  and  two  others  by  the  latter  farther  down  the 
river.  Experience  appears  to  have  shown  clearly  that  the  dams  and  locks 
have  injured  rather  than  aided  the  navigation  of  the  river.  They  con- 
stitute obstructions  to  the  flow  of  the  stream  and,  by  checking  its  al- 
ready slow  current,  cause  further  deposition  and  further  choking  of  the 
channel.10  The  dams  have  probably  also  tended  to  increase  the  number 
and  duration  of  floods,  thus  helping  to  prevent  the  agricultural  use  of 
the  bottom  lands. 


1  Chicago  Daily  Democrat,  December  4,  1848. 

2  Brown:    Drainage  Channel  and  Waterway,  p.  260. 

3  Davidson  and  Stuve:    History  of  Illinois,  p.  487. 

4  Characteristic  statements  occur  in  the  Annual  Report  of  the  Board  of  Canal  Trustees,  1855,  p.  10; 
1857,  p.  9;  1866,  p.  111. 

5  Brown:    Drainage  Channel  and  Waterway,  pp.  231-232. 

6  Reports  of  the  General  Assembly  of  Illinois,  1863,  V.  2,  pp.  348-349. 

7  Brown:    Drainage  Channel  and  Waterway,  pp.  260-261. 

8  Idem,  p.  266. 

6  Annual  Report  of  Canal  Commissioners,  1872,  pp.  29r31,  33. 
10  Seventeenth  Annual  Report,  U.  S.  Geological  Survey,  V.  "2,  pp.  744-745. 


barrows. J  SETTLEMENT  AM)  DEVELOPMENT.  107 

The  federal  government  had  appropriated  over  two  million  dollars 
for  the  Illinois  river  by  19001  for  surveys,  dredging,  locks  and  dams. 
This  is  l)ui  a  small  fraction  of  the  sum  now  demanded  for  the  river 
(p.  122). 

A-  a  result  oi  pronounced  agitation  for  better  sanitation  in  Chicago-, 
the  Siate  Legislature  authorized  a  slight  enlargement  of  the  Illinois 
and  Michigan  canal  in  1865.  The  improvement  was  completed  in 
1871,2  but  proved  of  little  value  commercially. 

Tin:  Railroads  and  the  Settlement  of  the  Great  Prairies. 

The  great  prairies  still  remained  largely  unoccupied  in  1850,  as  a 
comparison  of  the  woodland  and  prairie  map  (Fig.  35)  with  the  popu- 
lation map  for  1850  (Fig.  37)  clearly  shows.  The  problems  of  trans- 
portation and  of  markets  still  prevented  their  occupation.  During  the 
decade  1850  to  1860,  however,  their  conquest  was  rapidly  accomplished, 
and  in  the  latter  year  (Fig.  38)  the  Grand  Prairie  had  everywhere  a 
population  of  over  six  to  the  square  mile,  and  the  great  prairies  to  the 
north  of  the  Illinois  river  more  than  eighteen  per  square  mile.  The 
population  of  the  State  as  a  whole  increased  over  100  per  cent  in  the 
ten  years.3  This  extraordinary  change  was  made  possible  by  the  rapid 
building  of  railroads.  In  1850  Illinois  had  only  110  miles  of  railroad4 
(Fig.  43)  ;  in  1860  it  had  2,867  miles5  (Fig.  44).  During  the  decade 
Illinois  built  more  miles  of  railroad  than  any  other  State,  and  more 
than  Michigan,  Wisconsin,  and  Iowa  combined.6  The  topography  of 
the  State  made  it  possible  to  build  railroads  rapidly  and  easily;7  in  the 
northern  and  eastern  parts  especially,  the  railroads  were  not  held  to 
certain  predetermined  courses  by  relief,  but  could  be  built  with  equal 
ease  in  almost  any  direction  across  the  flatfish  surface  of  the  upland 
prairies. 

The  railroads  supplied  lumber  to  the  home  builder  on  the  great 
prairies.8  They  brought  the  farmer  much  closer  to  a  market,9  increased 
greatly  the  valae  of  land  in  the  vicinity,10  and  permitted  a  rapid  growth 
in  agriculture  products.11     In  1850  Illinois  was  the  fifth  wheat  State, 


1  Raymond:    Index  to  Reports  of  Chief  of  Engineers,  U.  S.  Army,  V.  1,  pp.  512,  517. 
9  Brown:    Drainage  Channel  and  Waterway,  pp.  249-252. 

3  1850,  851,  470;  1860,  1,  711,  951  (Illinois  Blue  Book,  1905,  p.  580). 

4  Parker:    Growth  of  Illinois  and  Chicago,  p.  13. 
6  Idem. 

6  Ulinois  Blue  Book,  1903,  p.  156. 

7  Tanner:    Canals  and  Railroads  of  the  U.  S.,  p.  194. 

fi  Walker:    The  Mississippi  Valley,  p.  260;  Ferris:    The  States  and  Territories  of  the  Great  West, 
pp.  208-209. 

9  An  interesting  estimate  of  the  influence  of  railroads  upon  the  transportation  problem  appeared  in 
De  Bow's  Review,  V.  14,  pp.  79-80.  It  was  thought  that  on  the  average  wagon  road  the  cost  of  transpor- 
tation was  15  cents  per  ton  per  mile,  and  wheat  was  assumed  to  be  worth  $1.50  a  bushel  and  corn  75  cents. 
Thirty-three  bushels  of  each  were  taken  to  equal  a  ton.  In  that  case  the  cost  of  transporting  a  ton  of 
wheat  became  equal  to  its  value  at  330  miles,  corn  at  170  miles.  In  other  words,  the  grain  would  be  worth- 
less at  the  distances  mentioned  from  market.  Railroad  transportation,  it  was  estimated,  cost  only  one- . 
tenth  as  much  as  that  by  wagon .  Railroads,  therefore,  extended  the  economic  limit  for  the  transportation 
of  wheat  and  corn  respectively  to  3,300  and  1,700  miles.  At  Chicago,  however,  60  cents  a  bushel  for  wheat 
and  26  cents  for  shelled  corn  was  a  good  price  in  the  years  just  preceding  the  appearance  of  the  railroad 
(Prairie  Farmer,  V.  6,  p.  296;  V.  7,  p.  264);  often  the  price  was  much  lower  (p.  83).  At  these  prices  corn 
would  be  worthless  by  wagon  transportation  at  57  miles  from  the  lake  port  and  wheat  at  132  miles,  while 
railroads  would  extend  the  respective  limits  to  570  and  1,320  miles. 

10  Davidson  and  Stuve:    History  of  Illinois,  p.  572;  De  Bow's  Review,  V.  14,  p.  80. 

11  Eighth  Census,  Agriculture,  pp.  clxv,  clxvii. 


108  THE   MIDDLE   ILLINOIS   VALLEY.  [bull.  no.  15 

with  9,414,575  bushels;  in  I860,  it  was  first  with  23,837,023  bushels;1 
it  was  the  third  corn  State  in  1850,  with  57,646,984  bushels;  it  was  an 
emphatic  first  in  1860,  with  115,174,777  bushels.2 

Except  along  the  edges,  little  of  the  great  prairie  tracts  in  the  middle 
valley  counties  was  occupied  in  1850. 3  In  the  decade  1850  to  1860,  the 
aggregate  population  of  the  six  counties  increased  124  per  cent.4  The 
area  of  the  improved  land  increased  213  per  cent,5  and  the  grain  produc- 
tion 165  per  cent  in  the  same  time.6  The  relative  increase  in  population 
in  the  prairie  townships  back  from  the  river  was  much  greater,  but  can- 
not be  stated  exactly  outside  of  Bureau  county.7  There  the  townships 
of  Walnut  and  Ohio  (Fig.  39),  already  described  as  largely  unoccupied 
in  1850,  gained  respectively  1,025  per  cent  and  489  per  cent.8  The 
adjacent  inland  counties  whose  growth  before  1850  had  been  retarded 
by  their  distance  from  the  river  (p.  99),  filled  rapidly.  The  four  on 
the  north  and  northwest  increased  190  per  cent  during  the  decade,  while 
the  three  to  the  southeast  gained  224  per  cent.9 

At  the  same  time  that  the  railroads  were  opening  up  the  great  prairies, 
improved  farming  machinery  was  facilitating  their  agricultural  develop- 
ment. Drills,  mowing  machines,  reapers,  threshing  machines,  and  the 
like  were  coming  into  general  use. 

Influence  of  the   Illinois  Eiver  and  the  Canal  on  Eailroad 

Eates. 

The  importance  of  the  Illinois  river  and  the  canal  did  not  end  with 
the  loss  of  their  carrying  trade.  Indeed,  their  greatest  service  to  date 
has  perhaps  been  their  influence  in  securing  low  railroad  freight  rates. 
The  competing  railroads  are  forced  during  the  season  of  navigation  to 
establish  rates  near  enough  to  the  water  rates  so  that  shippers  will  prefer 
land  transportation.  This  has  saved  the  people  living  along  the  line  of 
the  river  and  canal  many  millions  of  dollars.10  The  value  of  the  canal 
and  river  as  freight  regulators  may  best  be  shown  by  a  few  specific  illus- 
trations from  various  years. 

(1)  Corn  was  shipped  by  water  in  1870  from  Henry  to  Chicago, 
130  miles,  for  5  cents  per  bushel,  wheat  at  6  cents.  The  rate  on  the 
Chicago,  Eock  Island,  and  Pacific  Eailroad  during  navigation  was 
7  16/100  cents  per  bushel  for  corn  and  10  cents  for  wheat;  during  the 
winter  season  the  rate  was  9  96/100  cents  for  corn  and  12  40/100  cents 


1  Eighth  Census,  Agriculture,  p.  xxix. 

2  Idem,  p.  xlvii. 

3  Ford:    History  of  Putnam  and  Marshall  Counties,  p.  129;  Matson:    Reminiscences  of  Bureau 
County,  p.  391;  Bradsby:    History  of  Bureau  County,  p.  179;  Flint:    Railroads  of  the  United  States,  p. 

'*  Illinois  Blue  Book,  1900,  Tables,  pp.  287-288. 

6  Compendium  Seventh  Census,  Tables,  pp.  220-223,  226-229;  Eighth  Census,  Agriculture,  Tables, 
pp.  30-37. 

8  Seventh  Census,  Tables,  pp.  730-731;  Eighth  Census,  Agriculture,  Tables,  pp.  30-37. 

7  The  population  of  all  the  townships  is  given  in  the  census  returns  for  1860  (Eighth  Census,  Popula- 
tion, pp.  88-101),  but  for  few  of  them  outside  Bureau  County  in  1850. 

9  Walnut,  1850, 71;  1860, 799.  Ohio,  1850, 183;  1860,1078.  (Seventh  Census,  pp.  703-704;  Eighth  Census, 
Population,  pp.  88-89.) 

9  Illinois  Blue  Book,  1900,  Tables,  pp.  287-288. 

10  It  was  estimated  that  in  1899  the  eighteen  counties  bordering  the  river  and  canal  north  of  and  in- 
cluding Tazewell  were  saved  $1,500,000  by  the  waterway  on  the  corn,  wheat,  and  oat  crops  alone.  (Annual 
Report  Canal  Commissioners,  1901,  p.  48.) 


barrows.]  SETTLEMENT  AND  DEVELOPMENT.  109 

for  wheat.  On  the  railroads  not  subject  to  water  competition  the 
rates  were  from  11  to  ll1:;  cents  per  bushel  for  corn,  and  15  to  18  cents 
for  wheat  lor  the  same  distance.3 

(2)  The  competing  railroads  establish  notably  lower  rates  during 
the  navigation  season  than  in  winter,  when  they  are  in  the  position  of 
a  monopoly.  Thus  in  January,  1875,  the  railroad  rate  on  flour  from 
Peoria  to  New  York  was  90  cents  a  barrel.  It  fell  by  stages  to  50  cents 
j n  August,  but  rose  again  to  $1.00  in  the  following  December.  The  cor- 
responding variations  in  the  rates  on  grain,  meats,  etc.,  were  of  similar 
magnitude.2 

(3)  The  Chicago,  Eock  Island,  and  Pacific  Railroad  has  charged  15 
cents  per  hundred  pounds  for  freight  from  Tiskilwa  (a  few  miles  west  of 
Bureau  and  beyond  the  reach  of  water  competition)  to  Chicago,  122 
miles,  when  it  charged  only  8  cents  from  Henry  to 'Chicago,  130  miles.3 

(4)  In  1901,  the  railroad  freight  rates  to  Chicago  in  northern  Illi- 
nois were  lowest  along  the  Illinois  river  and  the  canal,  and  higher  with 
increasing  distance  from  the  waterway  regardless  of  the  distance  from 
Chicago.4  Yet  in  this  year  the  canal  itself  had  virtually  ceased  to  carry 
freight   (Fig.  42). 

The  Development  of  Manufactures. 

There  are  two  more  or  less  distinct  periods  in  the  development  of 
manufactures  in  the  area,  the  first  characterized  by  small  establishments 
at  man}-  places,  the  second  marked  by  large  establishments  at  a  few 
favored  places.  In  both  periods  the  more  important  manufactures  be- 
long to  two  classes:  (1)  Commodities  demanded  in  the  region  which 
it  was  expensive  and  at  times  impossible  to  bring  from  a  distance,  and 
i  2  |  commodities  for  the  making  of  which  the  surplus  products  of  the 
ieu inn  afforded  the  raw  material  and  which  could  be  transported  to  a 
market  more  economically  in  the  manufactured  than  in  the  crude  state. 

EARLY  INDUSTRIES. 

Slaughtering  and  meat  packing. — The  important  manufactures  of 
the  first  period  were  flour,  feed,  and  lumber,  already  referred  to  on  page 
81,  and  especially  slaughtering  and  meat  packing.  The  making  of 
whiskey  also  became  an  important  industry  before  1850.  The  raising 
of  swine  received  attention  early  in  the  Illinois  valley  (p.  81).  The 
business  was  peculiarly  suited  to  frontier  conditions.  Much  wooded 
bluff  and  ravine  land  was  fit  for  little  else.  Corn,  the  leading  crop,  was 
bulky  and  heavy,  and  therefore  difficult  to  transport  to  the  distant  mar- 
kets. It  was  accordingly  found  advantageous  to  use  corn  in  fattening 
swine,  which  could  walk  to  market  or,  when  killed,  found  a  market  at 


1  Annual  Report  Canal  Commissioners,  1870,  p.  39. 

J  Sixth  Annual  Report  of  the  Trade  and  Commerce  of  Peoria,  p.  33. 

3  House  Executive  Documents,  50th  Congress,  First  Session,  V.  5,  p.  2145. 

4  Railroad  Rate  Map,  opp.  p.  28  of  Annual  Report  Canal  Commissioners,  1901. 


110  THE    MIDDLE    ILLINOIS   VALLEY.  [bull.  no.  15 

the  down-river  cities,  particularly  New  Orleans.  At  first  all  the  slaught- 
ering was  done  by  farmers  in  the  winter,  who,  after  supplying  their  own 
wants,  sent  the  surplus  down  the  Illinois.  Nearly  140,000  pounds  of 
pork  and  10,000  pounds  of  lard  were  shipped  by  river  from  Peoria 
county  in  February,  1835.1  Later  the  industry  was  established  in  the 
towns.  It  was  begun  at  Peoria  in  1837,2  and  soon  all  the  river  towns 
participated  actively.  The  few  inland  towns  do  not  appear  to  have 
engaged  to  any  extent  in  the  business,  owing  to  difficulties  of  transpor- 
tation.3 Slaughtering  was  still  done  by  farmers  who  sold  their  surplus 
meat  to  the  dealers  in  the  towns,  by  whom  it  was  cured  for  the  market. 
The  packing  season  was  limited  to  the  winter  months.4  The  import- 
ance of  the  industry  along  the  Illinois  in  comparison  to  other  places 
is  suggested  by  the  fact  that  as  many  hogs  were  killed  at  Lacon  in  the 
season  of  1849-1850,  as  at  Chicago;  Peoria  killed  nearly  twice  as  many, 
and  Pekin  more  than  double  the  number.5  The  next  season  Peoria  led 
the  towns  on  the  middle  Illinois  with  30,000  hogs,6  while  Chicago  killed 
only  about  20,000.7  From  that  time,  however,  the  business  increased 
rapidly  in  Chicago,  and  by  1861-1862  it  was  the  leading  slaughtering 
and  packing  center  in  the  United  States,  killing  over  twenty  times  as 
many  hogs  as  it  had  ten  years  before.8  This  rapid  rise  of  Chicago  to 
pre-eminence  as  a  packing  center  was  due  largely  to  the  great  railroad 
mileage  that,  beginning  in  the  decade  1850-1860  (Figs.  43  and  44), 
became  tributary  to  the  city.9  Greater  economy  in  manufacture  was 
possible  in  a  small  number  of  large  establishments.  Accordingly  the 
development  of  railroad  transportation  contributed  to  the  decline  of  the 
industry  in  the  towns  on  the  middle  Illinois  river,  except  in  the  case 
of  Peoria. 

Manufacture  of  flour. — The  early  manufacture  of  flour  beyond  the 
needs  of  local  consumption  probably  has  its  explanation  in  the  desire 
to  reduce  the  surplus  grain  to  the  smallest  possible  compass  in  order  to 
transport  it  profitably  to  the  distant  markets.  The  same  considerations 
had  led  to  the  rather  extensive  manufacture  of  flour  still  earlier  in 
Ohio.10  One  of  the  first  flouring  mills  in  that  part  of  the  State  was 
built  in  1830  on  Kickapoo  creek,  near  Peoria  (p.  81).  The  product, 
beyond  that  required  in  the  vicinity,  was  sent  on  large  flat  boats  to  New 
Orleans,  where  it  was  sold  from  $1.37  to  $1.50  a  barrel.11  Peoria  had 
four  mills  in  1850,  which  that  year  exported  nearly  34,000  barrels  of 
flour  valued  at  about  $152,000.12 


1  Illinois  in  1837,  p.  96. 

2  History  of  Peoria  County,  p.  543. 

3  Princeton,  however,  is  credited  with  killing  3,700  hogs  in  1849-50;  Western  Journal,  V.  3,  p.  410. 

4  Peoria  appears  to  have  first  tried  the  experiment  of  summer  packing  in  1872.  (Third  Annual  Re- 
port to  the  Peoria  Board  of  Trade,  p.  21.) 

G  Lacon,  11,500;  Chicago,  11,500;  Peoria,  21,000;  Pekin,  26,000.  (Western  Journal,  V.  3,  p.  410.)  These 
figures  are  only  approximate,  though  the  relative  importance  of  the  industry  in  the  several  towns  is 
correctly  stated.    Somewhat  different  figures  are  given,  for  example,  in  Western  Journal,  V.  6,  p.  191. 

8  Western  Journal,  V.  6,  p.  191. 

7  Twelfth  Census,  V.  9,  p.  414. 

8  De  Bow's  Review,  Second  Series,  V.  4,  p.  116;  Twelfth  Census,  V.  9,  p.  413.  Chicago  is  said  to  have 
commenced  killing  cattle  in  1832  (Parker:  Growth  of  Illinois  and  Chicago,  p.  11),  and  seems  to  have 
led  in  the  slaughtering  and  packing  of  cattle  by  the  early  fifties.  (Curtiss:  Western  Portraiture,  p.  51 ; 
De  Bow's  Review,  Second  Series,  V.  4,  p.  116.) 

9  Twelfth  Census,  V.  9,  p.  414. 

a0  Eighth  Census,  Agriculture,  p.  cxxix,  cxxx. 

11  Gould's  Peoria  Directory,  1880-1,  p.  5. 

12  Idem;  History  of  Peoria  County,  p.  452. 


barrows.]  SETTLEMENT  AND  DEVELOPMENT.  Ill 

Manufacture  of  Whiskey. — The  problem  of  marketing  the  surplus 
corn  was  solved  in  part  by  the  manufacture  of  whiskey,  which  carried 
the  crop  in  small  bulk  with  large  value.  Pekin  had  two  steam  distil- 
leries in  1837  ;*  Peoria  built  one  that  proved  a  great  success  in  1844.2 
Three  years  later  Peoria  exported  4,500  barrels  of  whiskey,3  and  in 
1850,  5,685  barrels,  worth  nearly  $57,000.4 

As  already  indicated,  the  development  of  manufactures  in  the  region 
was  characterized  in  the  earlier  years  by  relatively  small  establishments 
in  all  of  the  towns,  at  least  all  situated  upon  the  river.  Pekin  illus- 
trated typically  the  manufacturing  interests  of  these  places.  In  1837, 
when  its  population  was  only  about  eight  hundred,  it  had  two  slaughter- 
ing and  packing  houses,  a  steam  flouring  mill,  a  steam  saw  mill,  and 
two  steam  distilleries.5  The  census  of  1860  shows  that  manufacturing 
interests  were  still  widely  distributed.6  The  concentration  then  in  pro- 
gress continued  rapidly,  however,  until  today  manufacturing  within  the 
area  is  confined  almost  entirely  to  Peoria  and  Pekin. 

THE  GREAT  PEORIA  INDUSTRIES. 

General  advantages  of  Peoria  as  a  manufacturing  center. — The  exten- 
sive development  of  manufactures  in  Peoria  was  favored  by  (1)  the 
location  of  the  city;  (2)  its  transportation  facilities;  and  (3)  an 
abundant  supply  of  cheap  coal.  (1)  Peoria  is  centrally  located  with 
reference  to  the  Illinois  valley  and  the  State,  in  the  midst  of  an  agri- 
cultural area  of  unsurpassed  fertility.  (2)  The  location  and  commer- 
cial importance  of  Peoria  insured  it  good  railroad  connections.  It  had 
three  railroads  in  1860  (Fig.  44).  The  number  had  grown  to  ten  in 
1875,7  with  nearly  one  hundred  freight  trains  daily  shortly  after.8 
Twelve  railroads  now  focus  on  the  city9  from  all  directions,  like  the 
spokes  of  a  wheel.  The  competition  of  the  railroads,  and  particularly  the 
wholesome  influence  of  the  Illinois  river  (p.  108)  have  secured  Peoria 
low  freight  rates.  These  transportation  conditions  have  facilitated  both 
the  collection  of  the  surplus  grain  of  the  surrounding  area,  and  the 
distribution  of  manufactured  commodities.  (3)  One  of  the  greatest 
advantages  Peoria  has  possessed  in  the  development  of  its  manufactures 
has  been  cheap  coal.  During  the  period  of  the  establishment  of  the 
great  industries  it  was  brought  to  the  city  in  wagons  and  sold  at  7  to  8 
cents  a  bushel,  or  at  $1.50  to  $2.00  a  ton.10    Indeed,  it  was  claimed  that 


1  Illinois  in  1837,  p.  125. 

2  Ballarice:    History  of  Peoria,  pp.  135-136. 

3  Western  Journal,  V.  1,  p.  113. 

4  Drown:    Record  and  Historical  View  of  Peoria,  p.  144. 
6  Illinois  in  1837,  p.  125. 

6  The  manufactures  of  Putnam  County  were  reported  at  $38,759;  those  of  Bureau  at  $125,653;  Mar. 
shall,  $546,700;  Woodford,  $224,234;  Peoria,  $4,930,746;  Tazewell,  $527,655.  (Eighth  Census,  Manufactures, 
pp.  84,  109.) 

7  Sixth  Annual  Report  of  Trade  and  Commerce  of  Peoria,  p.  53. 

8  History  of  Peoria  County,  p.  530. 

9  Thirty-sixth  Annual  Report  of  Trade  and  Commerce  of  Peoria,  pp.  56-57. 

10  Drown:  Record  and  Historical  View  of  Peoria,  p.  144;  Hunt's  Merchants'  Magazine,  V.  41,  p.  696; 
Third  Annual  Report  to-the  Peoria  Board  of  Trade,  p.  10;  Gould:     Peoria  Directory,  1880-1,  p.  7. 


112 


THE    MIDDLE    ILLINOIS   VALLEY, 


[BULL.   NO.  15 


Fig.  45.    Map  showing  the  yield  of  corn  per  acre  throughout  Illinois. 


BARROWS.] 


SETTLEMENT   AND    DEVELOPMENT. 


113 


Under  15% 


5g  15  to  22  % 


22  to  30% 
30  to  40% 
40%  and  over 


Fig.  46.    Map  showing  the  percentage  of  the  total  area  which  is  devoted  to  corn  culture  throughout 

Illinois. 

—8  G 


114  THE    MIDDLE    ILLINOIS   VALLEY.  Ibull.  no.  15 

coal  could  be  mined  and  marketed  cheaper  at  Peoria  than  at  any  other 
place  in  the  State.1  It  was  used  near  Peoria  from  an  early  date.2  As 
the  coal  occurs  in  essentially  horizontal  beds,  which  outcrop  on  the  sides 
of  various  ravines,  no  special  skill  or  knowledge  was  required  to  obtain 
it,  and  the  simplest  methods  of  drift-mining  were  followed. 

Com  products. — The  distinguishing  manufacturing  industry  of 
Peoria  has  long  been  the  distilling  business,  and  the  glucose  industry  is 
now  second  in  importance.3  For  the  manufacture  of  its  corn  products, 
Peoria  has,  in  addition  to  the  general  advantages  noted  above,  a  central 
location  in  the  corn  belt  of  the  State.  Figure  45  shows  the  corn  yield 
per  acre  throughout  the  State,  and  indicates  clearly  the  advantageous 
position  of  Peoria  in  relation  to  the  areas  that  produce  over  forty  bushels 
to  the  acre.  The  control  of  the  corn  yield  by  the  several  drift  areas, 
whose  borders  are  indicated  by  the  irregular,  heavy  lines  is  very  strik- 
ing.4 Figure  46  shows  the  percentage  of  the  total  area  which  is  devoted 
to  corn  culture  throughout  the  State,  and  emphasizes  the  favorable  loca- 
tion of  Peoria  with  reference  to  the  areas  of  higher  specialization.  Some 
of  the  lines  bordering  the  drift  areas  have  less  importance  than  on  the 
preceding  map,  while  others  are  of  equal  significance.  The  importance 
of  Peoria's  favorable  position  on  the  corn  maps  will  be  appreciated 
when  it  is  stated  that  the  distilleries  of  the  Peoria  Internal  Revenue 
District  used  5,809,170  bushels  of  corn  in  the  year  ending  June  30, 
1906.5  This  means  464  acres  of  corn  each  week  day  of  the  year  (count- 
ing forty  bushels  to  the  acre.) 


1  History  of  Peoria  County,  p.  266. 

2  Probably  the  first  coal  discovered  in  the  United  States  was  found  in  the  vicinity  of  Peoria  in  1673. 
The  soldiers  stationed  at  Ft.  Clark  found  coal  of  good  quality  on  the  banks  of  Kickapoo  creek  abcut  a 
mile  above  its  mouth,  which  they  used  for  fuel.  (Beck:  Gazetteer  of  Illinois  and  Missouri,  p.  146.)  Illinois 
valley  coal  was  described  in  1823  as  very  abundant,  and  valuable  because  of  the  scarcity  of  timber.  (Idem, 
p.  18.)  In  1837  it  was  hauled  by  wagon  one  to  three  miles  into  Peoria  where  it  was  generally  used  for  fuel 
and  sold  for  12  cents  a  bushel.    (Illinois  in  1837,  p.  96.) 

3  Census  Bulletin  52,  p.  29. 

4  The  area  of  heaviest  yield  (forty-five  bushels  and  over  per  acre)  coincides  essentially  with  the  Wis- 
consin drift,  the  boundary  of  which  is  indicated  on  the  map  by  the  heavy  line  which  crosses  the  Illinois 
river  at  Peoria.  Save  in  the  northeast,  the  soils  of  the  Wisconsin  drift  are  dominantly  dark  brown  silt 
loams,  and  over  large  areas  in  the  earlier  Wisconsin  area,  black  clay  loams.  (University  of  Illinois  Agri- 
cultural Experiment  Station,  Bulletin  123,  pp.  220,  233.)  These  soils  are  in  general  rich  in  nitrogen  and 
phosphorus  (Idem,  pp.222, 233)  and  are  of  great  fertility.  The  former  type  particularly  has  great  capacity 
to  absorb  and  hold  water  from  heavy  rains,  later  delivering  it  as  needed  to  growing  crops  (Idem,  p.  222). 
The  black  color  of  the  second  type  is  due  to  the  high  content  of  humus,  a  consequence  of  the  very  flat 
topography  of  the  inter-moraine  tracts  where  it  occurs,  and  the  resulting  poor  drainage.  The  imperfect 
natural  drainage,  however,  has  required  extensive  ditching  and  tiling.  The  lower  yield  in  the  north- 
eastern part  of  the  Wisconsin  area  near  Lake  Michigan  is  due  to  the  influence  of  Chicago  and  its  suburbs, 
and  to  the  fact  that  the  broad  morainic  tracts  of  this  section  (Fig.  20)  are  characterized  by  a  yellow-gray 
silt  loam  soil  much  poorer  in  phosphorus  and  humus  and  less  fertile  than  the  soils  to  the  southwest .  (Idem, 
pp.  238-239.) 

The  area  between  the  Illinois  river  and  the  irregular  heavy  line  extending  from  its  mouth  to  the 
border  of  the  Wisconsin  drift  is  the  area  of  middle  Illinoian  glaciation,  while  to  the  south  of  the  irregular 
line  the  drift  is  lower  Illinoian.  The  former  usually  has  a  brown  silt  loam  of  the  general  type  described 
above,  although  because  of  its  greater  age  and  the  better  development  of  drainage  lines,  it  is  often  some- 
what poorer  in  nitrogen  and  phosphorus  (Idem,  p.  222).  It  yields  in  general  more  than  thirty  bushels  of 
corn  to  the  acre.  The  lower  Illinoian  area  has  a  gray  silt  loam  soil  over  large  areas  (Idem,  p.  210).  It  con- 
tains less  than  one-half  as  much  nitrogen  and  phosphorus  as  the  black  clay  loams  of  the  early  Wisconsin 
area  (Idem,  p.  197),  and  is  of  relatively  inferior  quality,  producing  less  than  thirty  bushels  of  corn  per 
acre .  The  greater  yield  in  the  eastern  part  of  this  area  is  probably  due  to  the  bottom  lands  of  the  Wabash 
river.  North  of  the  Illinois  river  the  upper  Illinoian  drift  usually  has  a  relatively  fertile  brown  silt  loam 
soil  of  the  type  already  described  (Idem,  pp.  220,  222).  The  principal  upland  soil  of  the  neighboring 
Iowan  drift' is  a  sandy  loam  (Idem,  p.  222).  The  combined  area  produces  forty  to  forty-five  bushels  of 
corn  per  acre,  except  in  the  broken,  hilly  land  of  the  southern  part.  The  heavy  lines  crossing  the 
southern  end  of  the  State,  the  lower  part  of  the  peninsula  between  the  Illinois  and  Mississippi  rivers, 
and  the  northwestern  corner  of  the  State,  separate  glaciated  from  unglaciated  areas.  The  latter  are  in 
general  relatively  infertile. 

B  Annual  Report  Commissioner  of  Internal  Revenue,  1906,  p.  62. 


barrows. I  SETTLEMENT  AND  DEVELOPMENT.  115 

The  beginnings  of  the  distilling  industry  in  Peoria  have  already  been 
noted  (p.  111).  The  business  had  become  the  leading  manufacturing 
interest  of  the  city  by  1859-1860.1  In  1864  there  were  no  less  than 
twelve  distilleries  within  the  city,  and  several  others  in  the  vicinity. 
These  twelve  distilleries  produced  over  38,000  gallons  of  whiskey  daily, 
and  used  10,500  bushels  of  grain  and  5,250  bushels  of  coal.2  The  in- 
dustry was  prostrated  for  a  time  in  consequence  of  the  passage  of  the 
internal  revenue  law  of  1864,  and  the  growing  dependence  of  the  city 
upon  it  was  painfully  illustrated.3  The  business  revived  with  the  reduc- 
tion of  the  tax.  and  in  1870  there  were  eight  distilleries  again  in  oper- 
ation.4 From  then  on  the  industry  grew  rapidly.5  There  were  eleven 
distilleries  in  1879,6  and  the  output  was  over  three  times  as  great  as  that 
of  1870.7  Peoria  had  become  the  leading  distilling  city  of  the  United 
States. 

The  United  States  in  1900  produced  distilled  liquors  to  the  value  of 
$63,496,208.  Of  this  Peoria  produced  $26,792,354,  leading  its  nearest 
competitor  by  over  $10,000,000.8  In  1905,  the  Peoria  product  reached 
$42,170,815/  This  formed  77.9  per  cent  of  the  total  for  the  industry 
in  the  State,  and  represented  an  increase  in  value  of  57.4  per  cent  in 
five  years.9  It  formed,  furthermore,  more  than  69  per  cent  of  the 
product  of  all  Peoria  industries.  The  internal  revenue  collections  on 
distilled  spirits  in  the  Peoria  district  amounted  to  over  $33,000,000 
for  the  year  ending  June  30,  1906.  This  was  over  63  per  cent  of  the 
total  internal  revenue  taxes  paid  by  the  State,  and  greatly  in  excess  of 
those  collected  in  any  of  the  other  sixty-five  collection  districts  of  the 
United  States.10  The  fact  of  chief  importance  here  is  that  Peoria  was 
led  to  specialize  to  such  an  extent  in  the  liquor  industry,  and  attained 
leadership  in  the  United  States  in  this  particular  business,  because  of 
the  geographic  conditions  discussed  above. 

The  manufacture  of  glucose,  begun  in  the  United  States  about  1870, 
is  now  practically  confined  to  Illinois.11  Peoria  built  its  first  factory 
in  1879,12  and  the  following  year  used  7,500  bushels  of  corn  daily  in  the 
making  of  glucose  and  grape  sugar.13  As  already  indicated,  the  industry 
has  come  to  hold  second  rank  among  the  manufacturing  interests  of 
Peoria,  but  definite  statistics  regarding  it  are  not  available.14  Starch 
has  been  manufactured  on  a  fairly  large  scale  in  the  past  in  Peoria,15 
but  is  not  mentioned  in  the  1905  census  list  of  industries  for  the  city.16 


1  History  of  Peoria  County,  p.  5.53;  Eighth  Census,  Manufactures,  p.  101. 

2  Ballance:    History  of  Peoria,  pp.  136-137. 

3  Idem,  pp.  138-140;  Gould:    Peoria  Directory,  1880-1,  pp.  5-6. 
*  Gould:    loc.  cit. 

5  Porter:    The  West  in  1880,  p.  538. 

6  History  of  Peoria  County,  p.  535;  Gould:    loc.  cit. 

7  Porter:    loc.  cit. 

8  Twelfth  Census,  V.  8,  p.  1069. 

9  Census  Bulletin  52,  p.  29. 

10  Annual  Report  Commissioner  of  Internal  Revenue,  1906,  pp.  1-2,  130-131. 

11  Special  Census  Report  on  Manufactures,  1905,  Part  I,  p.  cxxxviii. 

12  History  of  Peoria  County,  p.  552. 

13  Gould:    Peoria  Directory,  1880-1,  p.  6. 

14  Census  Bulletin  52,  p.  29. 

18  Hunt's  Merchants'  Magazine,  V.  41,  pp.  690-691;  Ballance:    History  of  Peoria,  p.  146;  History  of 
Peoria  County,  pp.  554-555. 

16  Census  Bulletin  52,  pp.  48-49 


116  THE    MIDDLE    ILLINOIS   VALLEY.  [bull.  no.  lfr 

Agricultural  Implements. — Xext  to  the  making  of  the  two  great  corn 
products,  distilled  liquors  and  glucose,  the  manufacturing  of  agricul- 
tural implements  is  the  leading  industry  of  Peoria.  Its  importance  is 
due  chiefly  to  the  great  demand  for  implements  existing  in  the  agricul- 
tural region  surrounding  the  city.  The  industry  always  tends  to  estab- 
lish itself  near  its  chief  market,  because  of  the  high  freight  rates  charged 
on  its  products,  many  of  which  occupy  much  car  space.1  Peoria  is  also 
favorably  situated  with  reference  to  the  iron  manufacturing  centers  near 
the  end  of  Lake  Michigan,  and,  b.y  way  of  the  lake,  with  reference  to 
the  hardwood  forests  of  Wisconsin  and  Michigan.  In  1890,  the  agri- 
cultural implements  made  in  Peoria  were  valued  at  $519,611  and  con- 
stituted only  0.9  per  cent  of  the  industries  of  the  city;  in  1900,  the 
product  was  valued  at  $2,372,329,  making  4.9  per  cent  of  all  industries.2 
In  the  latter  year,  Peoria  ranked  fifth  among  the  cities  of  the  United 
States  in  the  industry.3  The  principal  implements  made,  reflect  the 
dominant  interests  of  the  tributary  agricultural  area.  They  are  corn 
planters,  grain  drills  and  sowers,  listers,  cultivators,  eaualizers,  harrows, 
plows,  stock  cutters,  and  harvesters,  besides  many  miscellaneous  imple- 
ments.4 In  earlier  days,  the  country  about  Peoria  depended  upon  Pitts- 
burg for  its  few  agricultural  implements.5  The  industry  was  inaugur- 
ated at  Peoria  with  the  manufacture  of  plows  in  1843,  and  proved  very 
successful.  Before  1859  the  city  was  making  10,000  plows  per  year. 
The  original  plant  made  in  1869,  3,000  plows  and  about  1,200  culti- 
vators. The  second  plant  established  made  20,000  plows  in  1870. 
Peoria  implements  found  a  market  westward  to  the  Pacific.6 

Slaughtering  and  meat  packing. — The  fourth  industry  in  importance 
in  Peoria  is  that  of  slaughtering  and  meat  packing.  Its  early  develop- 
ment in  the  region  and  its  decline  outside  of  Peoria  have  already  been 
discussed  (pp.  109-110).  It  continued  of  importance  in  Peoria  because 
of  its  good  railroad  facilities  and  because  of  the  distilleries.  It  was  found 
profitable  to  use  the  refuse  of  the  grain  after  its  use  in  the  manufacture 
of  whiskey,  in  fattening  cattle  and  swine.  In  1905,  the  value  of  the 
products  was  $1,480,398.7  In  addition,  cattle  and  swine  are  fattened 
here  and  then  shipped  east.  Peoria  is  also  an  important  trans-shipment 
point  for  live  stock.  Great  numbers  of  cattle  and  swine  are  collected 
from  the  surrounding  country,  fed,  watered,  assorted,  etc.,  and  re- 
shipped.  These  promptly  became  important  activities  in  Peoria  upon 
the  development  of  its  railroad  connections.8  The  Peoria  Union  Stock 
Yards  were  opened  about  1877. 


1  Twelfth  Census,  V.  7,  p.  cxci. 

2  Idem. 

3  Idem,  p.  cxc.    It  was  outranked  by  Chicago;  Springfield,  Ohio;  Racine,  Wisconsin;  and  South 
Bend,  Indiana,  named  in  order  of  importance. 

*  Twelfth  Census,  V.  10,  p.  350. 

5  Ballance:    History  of  Peoria,  p.  125. 

6  Ballance:    History  of  Peoria,  pp.  125-127;  Western  Journal,  V.  2,  p.  268;  Hunt's  Merchants'  Maga- 
zine, V.  41,  pp.  689-690;  History  of  Peoria  County,  p.  555 

7  Census  Bulletin  52,  pp.  48-49 

8  Sixth  Annual  Peport  of  Trade  and  Commerce  of  Peoria,  p.  11;  History  of  Peoria  County,  pp.  541r 
542;  Gould:    Peoria  Directory,  1880-1,  p.  6;  Porter:    The  West  in  1880,  p.  538. 


barrows.]         SETTLEMENT  AND  DEVELOPMENT.  117 

Other  industries. — It  will  be  impossible  to  interpret  here  all  the  re- 
maining industries  of  Peoria.  Cooperage  is  fifth  in  importance,  and 
completes  the  list  of  manufactures,  the  value  of  whose  products  ex- 
ceeded $1,000,000  in  1905.  It  is  dependent  chiefly  on  the  liquor  in- 
dustry. 

The  decline  in  the  milling  business  is  one  of  the  more  interesting  facts 
in  connection  with  the  minor  industries.  Flour  was  one  of  the  leading 
manufactures  of  the  earlier  period  and  certain  facts  suggestive  of  its 
Importance  down  to  1850  have  been  given  (p.  110).  The  industry  con- 
tinued to  grow  until  1870.  There  were  then  eight  large  mills  in  the 
city,  which  manufactured  573,500  barrels  of  flour.  •  This  flour  was 
shipped  south,  east,  and  even  to  Europe.1  From  that  date  the  milling  in- 
terests of  the  citv  declined.  In  1880,  little  Peoria  flour  was  shipped  out 
of  the  State.2  In  1905  the  value  of  the  product  was  less  ($593,5273) 
than  in  1855  ($650,0004),  and  only  three  mills  were  running.  This 
appears  to  mean  that  Peoria  found  it  impossible  to  compete  with  flour 
from  the  northwest.5  The  local  mills  no  longer  control  even  the  home 
market.  Peoria  capital  and  enterprise  find  more  profitable  employ- 
ment in  the  great  industries  discussed  above,  in  the  development  of 
which  geographic  conditions  give  the  city  distinct  advantages. 

Aside  from  the  manufacture  of  grain  products  Peoria  does  an  ex- 
tensive business  in  storing,  transferring,  and  re-shipping  grain,  espec- 
ially corn.  The  first  elevator  is  said  to  have  been  erected  in  1866.6  In 
1872  there  were  five,  and  the  business  of  warehousing  grain  was  de- 
scribed as  having  become  one  of  the  leading  interests  of  the  city.7  As 
a  collecting  point  for  corn,  Peoria  ranked  fourth  among  the  cities  of 
the  United  States  in  1907,  being  led  only  by  Chicago,  St.  Louis,  and 
Omaha.8 

The  settlement  of  Germans  in  Peoria  led  to  the  earlv  manufacture  of 
beer.9     The  product  in  1905  was  valued  at  $887,570.ld 

In  addition  to  the  manufactures  noted  above,  the  census  reports  nearly 
seventy  distinct  industries  of  varying,  but  very  minor  importance.11  The 
total  value  of  the  products  of  all  manufacturing  industries  for  1905 
was  $60,920,411.12  The  value  of  all  industries  in  1900  was  $48,8 7 1,5 9 6. " 
The  city  accordingly  gained  24.6  per  cent  in  five  years. 


1  Gould's  Peoria  Directory,  1880-1,  p.  5;  History  of  Peoria  County,  p.  452.  Peoria  exported  30,000 
"barrels  of  flour  to  Great  Britain  in  1872  (Third  Annual  Report  to  Peoria  Board  of  Trade,  p.  23). 

2  History  of  Peoria  County,  pp.  558-559. 

3  Census  Bulletin  52,  pp.  48-49. 

4  History  of  Peoria  County,  p.  452. 

5  The  value  of  the  flour  and  grist  mill  products  of  Minnesota  was  in  1900  14.1  per  cent  of  the  total  for 
the  United  States  (Twelfth  Census,  V.  9,  p.  357).  The  industry  centers  in  Minneapolis,  favorably  situ 
ated  with  reference  to  the  wheat  fields,  and  having  the  great  advantage  of  the  water  power  afforded  by- 
the  falls  of  St.  Anthony. 

6  History  of  Peoria  County,  p.  540. 

7  Third  Annual  Report  to  Peoria  Board  of  Trade,  pp.  18-19. 

8  Fiftieth  Annual  Report,  Chicago  Board  of  Trade,  p.  173. 

9  Ballance:    History  of  Peoria,  pp.  146-147. 

10  Census  Bulletin  52,  pp.  48-49. 

11  The  more  important  are  in  alphabetical  order:  Bakery  products;  brooms  and  brushes;  carriages 
and  wagons;  cars  and  shop  construction  work;  copper  smithing  and  sheet  iron  work;  food  preparations; 
foundry  and  machine  shop  products;  furniture;  gypsum  wall  plaster;  lumber  products;  mineral  and  soda 
waters;  models  and  patterns;  printing  and  publishing;  saddlery  and  harness;  stoves  and  furnaces;  tinware; 
tobacco,  cigars  and  cigarettes.    (Census  Bulletin  52,  pp.  48-49.) 

12  Census  Bulletin  52,  p.  49. 

13  Twelfth  Census,  V.  8,  p.  1001. 


118  THE    MIDDLE   ILLINOIS   VALLEY.  [bull.  no.  15 

MANUFACTURING   OUTSIDE   PEORIA. 

Extensive  manufacturing  outside  of  Peoria  is  confined  to  Pekin. 
Its  advantages  are  the  same  in  kind  as  those  of  Peoria,  though  not  so 
great  in  some  particulars.  Various  corn  products  are  the  principal  ar- 
ticles made.  The  value  of  the  products  of  all  its  industries  was  $12,- 
268,021  in  1900.1 

It  seems  likely  that  East  Peoria  Avill  become  an  increasingly  im- 
portant industrial  center.  It  is  situated  directly  across  the  river  from 
Peoria  at  the  mouth  of  Farm  creek  valley  and  upon  its  fan,  which 
affords  an  abundance  of  land  for  factories.  The  industries  will  of 
course  be  those  of  Peoria  itself.  A  zinc  plant  has  recently  been  es- 
tablished at  De  Pue,  which  is  expected  to  give  employment  to  1,500 
to  2,000  men.  This  promises  to  transform  the  place  into  a  thriving 
little  city. 

Existing  Agricultural  Conditions. 

Products.2 — Corn  continues  to  be  far  and  away  the  most  important 
crop  of  the  area  under  discussion,  as  might  be  inferred  from  Figure  46. 
With  two  exceptions  each  census  has  shown  the  corn  yield  of  the  six 
counties  to  be  more  than  twice  as  great  as  the  combined  yield  of  all 
other  grains;  once  (1880)  it  was  over  four  times  as  large.  This  special- 
ization is  largely  due  to  the  character  of  the  soil  (footnote  4,  p.  114)  and 
to  the  demand  for  corn  by  the  distilleries  and  for  the  fattening  of  stock, 
rather  than  to  climatic  conditions. 

Wheat  was  at  first  the  second  crop  and  oats  third.  Since  1860,  how- 
ever, the  production  of  wheat  has  greatly  decreased,  the  crop  of  1899 
being  less  than  one  twenty-eighth  that  of  1860.  On  the  other  hand  the 
production  of  oats  has  rapidly  increased,  the  crop  of  1899  being  more 
than  thirteen  times  as  large  as  that  of  1860  and  over  two  hundred 
twenty-seven  times  the  size  (in  bushels)  of  the  1899  wheat  crop.  Oats 
were  first  reported  as  the  second  crop  in  the  census  returns  for  1870. 
Barley,  rye,  and  hay  have  always  been  subordinate  crops 

Certain  bottom  and  terrace  lands  near  Peoria  are  profitably  used  for 
general  truck  gardening,  and  the  business  would  probably  prove  suc- 
cessful over  large  areas  of  similar  land  now  of  little  use.  Large  quan- 
tities of  melons  for  the  Peoria  market  are  grown  on  the  more  sandy 
portions  of  the  Chillicothe  and  Spring  Bay  terraces.  Successful  ex- 
periments in  the  growth  of  small  fruits  have  been  made  on  the  hilly 
ravine  land  bordering  the  Illinois  valley.  This  industry  also  appears 
capable  of  extensive  development,  particularly  in  the  vicinity  of  Peoria. 

Water  supply. — With  few  exceptions  the  wells  of  the  region  terminate 
in  the  drift  and  are  supplied  by  seepage  of  ground  water  from  the  drift. 
A  portion  of  the  rain  sinks  into  the  ground,  which,  below  a  certain 


1  Twelfth  Census,  V.  8,  pp.  1028-1029. 

2  Agricultural  statistics  for  the  area  mav  be  found  in  Seventh  Census,  pp.  730-731;  Eighth  Census, 
Agriculture,  pp.  30-37;  Compendium  Ninth  Census,  pp.  726-729;  Compendium  Tenth  Census,  pp.  760-763; 
Eleventh  Census,  Agriculture,  pp.  362-363;  Twelfth  Census,  V.  6,  pp.  160-161. 


barrows. J  SETTLEMENT    AND    DEVELOPMENT. 


119 


level,  is  full  of  water.  This  level  (the  level  of  ground  water  or  water 
table  varies  from  time  to  time  at  any  given  place,  and  from  place 
fco  place  at  any  given  time.  11  is  higher  in  periods  of  heavy  rain, 
and  lower  during  periods  of  drought.  It  changes  from  point  to  point 
because  of  unequal  precipitation  and  for  other  reasons.  To  contain 
water  permanently,  the  bottom  of  a  well  must  he  below  the  lowest  level 
of  ground  water  at  that  place;  it  will  then  fill  with  water  to  the  height 
of  the  water  table  in  the  adjacent  rock  or  earth.  Because  of  the 
conditions  indicated,  wells  must  be  sunk  to  different  depths.  Ninety- 
five  "deep  wells"  in  Bureau  county  range  in  depth  from  45  to  412  feet 
and  average  200  feet,1  The  great  majority  of  the  wells  of  the  area 
are  much  shallower.  When  an  abundant  water  supply  had  been  obtained 
upon  the  upland  prairies  by  wind  mills  from  wells,  one  of  the  serious 
early  problems  of  the  prairies  was  solved.  The  water  table  beneath  the 
porous  terraces  of  the  Illinois  valley  is  down  nearly  to  the  level  of  the 
river,  to  which,  accordingly,  terrace  wells  must  be  dug.  The  depth 
of  a  terrace  well,  therefore,  indicates  approximately  the  elevation  of  its 
top  above  the  Illinois.  The  artesian  wells  of  the  area  were  noted 
on  page  20. 

The  distribution  of  land  values. — The  distribution  of  land  values  is 
determined  by  various  factors,  chiefly  the  character  of  the  soil,  the  topo- 
graphy, and  the  accessibility  of  markets.  The  typical  black  prairie  lands 
of  the  type  so  long  avoided  have  recently  sold  for  $175.00  to  $200.00 
an  acre,  and  are  sometimes  held  at  even  higher  figures.  The  more  un- 
even yellow  clay  lands  nearer  the  Illinois  valley  are  less  valuable,  but  are 
variously  estimated  from  $60.00  to  $110.00  or  more  per  acre.  Several 
real  estate  men  report  these  lands  to  have  greater  value  west  of  the 
valley  than  east  of  it,  and  offer  an  interesting  explanation.  West  of  the 
valley,  winter  winds  are  said  to  blow  large  quantities  of  fine  material 
from  fall-plowed  fields  on  black  prairies  to  the  irregular  belt  of  domin- 
antly  yellow  clay  land  east  of  them,  increasing  the  fertility  and  value 
of  the  latter.  On  the  east  side  of  the  valley  the  situation  is  reversed, 
the  prevailing  winds  carrying  material  from  the  yellow  clay  lands  near 
the  river  to  the  black  prairie  farms  situated  farther  back  from  the 
valley.  Timbered  bluff  lands  range  from  $20.00  or  less  an  acre,  to 
$55. 00  or  more.  Terrace  lands  are  said  to  vary  from  $70.00  or  less 
where  especially  sandy,  to  $100.00  or  $125.00,  particularly  near  the 
valley  bluffs  where  they  have  been  enriched  by  wash  from  the  uplands. 
Bottom  lands  vary  greatly  in  value.  Many  swampy  tracts,  subject  to 
frequent  inundation,  are  at  present  practicallv  worthless.  Other  higher 
and  drier  areas  that  are  suited  to  truck  gardening  are  of  great  value. 

The  figures  quoted  above  have  no  exact  value  and  serve  only  to  show,  in 
a  general  way.  the  striking  variations  in  land  values  between  the  several 
geographic  divisions  of  the  area. 


Leverett:    Monograph  38.  U.  S.  Geol.  Surv.,  pp.  630-633. 


120 


THE   MIDDLE    ILLINOIS   VALLEY. 


IBULL.  NO.   15 


The  Hennepin  Canal. 

Agitation  for  the  recently  opened  canal  from  the  vicinity  of  Hen- 
nepin to  the  Mississippi  river  (Fig.  47)  began  in  1836.1  From  that 
time  until  Congress  provided  for  its  construction  in  1890,  the  canal 
project  was  frequently  before  the  public.     The  general  assemblies  of 


Fig.  47.    Map  showing  route  of  Hennepin  canal. 


Iowa  and  Illinois  memorialized  Congress  for  the  canal  on  a  number  of 
occasions;  it  was  urged  by  the  boards  of  trade  of  various  cities;  con- 
ventions were  held  to  further  the  enterprise.  The  government  mean- 
while made  surveys  looking  to  the  canal  in  1870,  1882,  and  in  1885-86. 
A  private  survey  was  made  as  early  as  186 6.2 


Matson:    Reminiscences  of  Bureau  County,  p.  405. 

House  Executive  Documents,  50th  Congress,  First  Session,  V.  5,  p.  2138. 


BARROWS.J  SETTLEMENT  AND  DEVELOPMENT.  121 

Various  arguments  were  advanced  in  favor  of  the  canal,1  of  which  the 
following  were  chief:  (1)  It  was  alleged  that  railroad  freight  rates 
were  exorbitant^  and  that  the  products  and  imports  of  the  region, 
largely  heavy  and  bulky  articles,  required  the  cheaper  transportation  that 
the  canal  would  itself  furnish,  and  that  it  would  compel  the  railroads 
to  supply.  A  saving  of  about  one-half  was  anticipated  in  the  transpor- 
tation of  grain.  (2)  An  immense  grain  producing  area  would  be 
benefited,  for  the  influence  of  the  canal  would  extend  west  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi into  Iowa,  south  along  the  Mississippi  to  a  point  below  Keokuk 
where  the  Illinois  river  would  afford  the  shortest  water  route  to  the 
east,  and  northward  to  St.  Paul.  It  would  permit  the  through  shipment 
of  grain  from  the  upper  Mississippi,  for  example,  to  Chicago,  where  low 
lake  rates  were  available,  thus  avoiding  the  transfer  from  boats  to  rail 
at  La  Crosse,  Savanna,  or  other  river  towns.  (3)  Lower  freight  rates 
would  enable  the  northwest  to  compete  with  greater  success  for  the 
European  grain  trade.  (4)  It  was  considered  doubtful  whether  the 
railroads  could  long  handle  the  rapidly  growing  grain  trade  of  the  north- 
west. 

The  canal  was  doubtless  first  suggested  by  the  westward  course  of  the 
upper  Illinois  river,  and  its  relative  nearness  where  it  turns  toward  the 
south,  to  the  Mississippi.  The  eastern  terminus  of  the  canal  was  ac- 
cordingly fixed  approximately  by  the  great  bend  of  the  Illinois'  and  by 
the  valley  of  Bureau  creek,  which  furnished  an  easy  route  by  which  the 
canal  could  reach  the  summit  level  to  the  west. 

The  Hennepin  canal  is  only  seven  feet  deep,  and  has  inadequate  con- 
nection with  Lake  Michigan  through  the  Illinois  and  Michigan  canal. 
It  cannot  be  of  great  commercial  importance  until  the  "Deep  Water- 
way" is  built.  Meanwhile  it  will  be  simply  a  local  highway,  regulating 
local  freight  rates. 

The  Deep  Waterway. 

The  future  development  of  the  middle  Illinois  valley  is  destined  to 
be  profoundly  affected  by  the  projected  Lake-to-Gulf  Deep  Waterway. 
It  has  been  apparent  for  some  years  that  the  federal  government  must 
sooner  or  later  create  a  Deep  Waterway  from  Chicago  through  the 
Illinois  valley  to  St.  Louis  and  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  The  need  for  such 
a  waterway  has  become  imperative.  It  is  required  alike  by  inland  and 
maritime  commerce.  Indeed,  the  products  and  trade  of  the  upper  Mis- 
sissippi valley  have  of  late  increased  so  much  faster  than  the  transporta- 
tion facilities  of  the  railroads,  that  leading  railroad  officials,  formerly 
the  enemies,  as  a  class,  of  inland  waterways,  now  advocate  their  im- 
provement to  assist  in  handling  the  traffic. 

The  Chicago  Sanitary  and  Ship  Canal,  opened  in  1900  at  a  cost  of 
about  $50,000,000,  while  built  primarily  to  dispose  of  the  sewage  of 
Chicago,  was  intended  also,  as  its  name  implies,  to  be  a  link  in  the  pro- 


1  Typical  discussions  occur  in  Annual  Report  Chief  of  Engineers,  U.  S.  Army,  1883,  p.  1780  et  seq.; 
From  Lake  Michigan  to  the  Mississippi  river  (pamphlet  of  Michigan  and  Mississippi  Canal  Commission); 
and  Henderson:  The  Proposed  Waterway  from  Lake  Michigan  to  the  Mississippi  via  the  Illinois  and 
Mississippi  Canal  (World's  Columbian  Water  Commerce  Congress  pamphlet). 


122  THE   MIDDLE    ILLINOIS   VALLEY.  [bull.  no.  15 

jected  Deep  Waterway.  It  was  provided  by  state  law  that  whenever 
the  United  States  completed  the  waterway  to  St.  Louis,  it  should  he 
given  control  of  the  Chicago  canal  for  navigation  purposes.1  It  was 
estimated  in  1905,  following  a  federal  survey  of  the  Illinois  river,  that 
it  would  cost  about  $23,500,000  to  open  a  fourteen  foot  channel  from 
the  Chicago  canal  at  Lockport  to  the  mouth  of  the  Illinois  river.2  Chi- 
cago has  accordingly  already  expended  more  than  two-thirds  of  the 
sum  required  for  the  improvement  as  far  as  the  Mississippi  river.  The 
conditions  of  modern  commerce,  particularly  the  fact  that  the  cost  per 
ton  for  transportation  decreases  as  the  size  of  the  cargo  increases,  thus 
inviting  increasingly  large  boats,  render  any  such  depth  of  water  as 
that  afforded  by  the  Illinois  and  Michigan  canal,  the  Hennepin  canal 
or  the  Illinois  river,  wholly  inadequate.  A  deep  waterway  is  required.3 
A  channel  depth  of  fourteen  feet  has  been  proposed  because  the  work 
lor  such  a  depth  can  be  done  economically,  because  the  supply  of  water 
necessary  to  it  can  be  provided  easily,  because  it  was  thought  that  a 
similar  depth  could  be  counted  on  during  most  of  the  year  in  the  Mis- 
sissippi river  below  St.  Louis,  really  the  outlet  of  the  canal,  and  for 
other  reasons.4  Such  a  depth  will  not  accommodate  the  most  important 
lake  traffic,  for  two-thirds  of  the  lake  trade  of  Chicago,  for  example,  is 
done  with  boats  drawing  more  than  fourteen  feet  of  water,  and  the 
trade  of  the  new  Illinois  waterway  will  probably  be  carried  on  in  spec- 
ially constructed  steel  barges,  drawing  twelve  to  thirteen  feet  of  water 
when  loaded,  and  towed  in  groups  by  powerful  tugs.5 

Tlie  nature  of  the  demand  for  the  Deep  Waterway  and  its  probable 
importance  may  profitably  be  indicated  in  more  detail.6 

( 1 )  Although  trade  in  the  Mississippi  basin  now  moves  largely 
along  cast  and  west  lines,  north  and  south  traffic  promises  to  assume 
immense  proportions  in  the  immediate  future.  The  northern  interior 
requires,  in  increasing  quantity,  southern  cotton,  tobacco,  sugar,  rice, 
lumber,  etc.  The  rapidly  developing  new  South  will  look  to  the  lake 
and  prairie  plains  and  their  cities  for  constantly  increasing  quantities 
of  cereals,  meat,  iron  and  steel,  machinery,  wagons,  wooden  ware,  canned 
products,  and  the  like.  During  the  last  few  years,  trade  between  the 
Xorth  and  South  has  been  seriously  restricted  by  increasingly  heavy 
rail  rates.  It  was  said  in  1906  that  there  was  scarcely  a  wholesale  mer- 
chant or  manufacturer  in  the  middle  west  who  did  not  find  himself 
barred  by  railroad  freight  rates  which  were  practically  prohibitory,  from 
the  territory  south  of  the  Ohio  river.  The  only  relief  appears  to  be 
in  the   improvement   of   the   waterways.7     The   Deep   Waterway   would 


1  Memorial  of  Trustees  of  Sanitary  District  of  Chicago  to  Congress,  p.  5;  House  Document  263,  59th 
Congress,  First  Session,  p.  10. 

2  House  Document  263,  59th  Congress,  First  Session,  p.  19. 

3  Report  Deep  Waterway  Committee  of  Chicago  Commercial  Association,  June,  1906,  p.  20. 

4  Memorial  of  Trustees  of  Sanitary  District  of  Chicago  to  Congress,  p.  4.  The  maintenance  in  the 
lower  Mississippi  of  the  depth  indicated  appears  to  be  one  of  the  most  serious  phases  of  the  problem. 

E  House  Document  263,  59th  Congress,  First  Session,  pp.  13,14. 

6  This  subject  is  discussed  among  other  places  in  the  following:  Report  of  the  Deep  Waterway 
Committee  of  the  Chicago  Commercial  Association,  June,  1906;  Report  of  the  Federal  Survey  for  a  Deep 
Waterway,  in  House  Document  263,  59th  Congress,  First  Session;  Memorial  of  Trustees  of  Sanitary  Dis- 
trict of  Chicago  to  Congress;  Report  of  Internal  Improvement  Commission  of  Illinois,  February,  1907; 
Illinois  Waterway  Report  of  Internal  Improvement  Commission  of  Illinois,  March,  1909;  Cooley: 
Lakes  and  Gulf  Waterway. 

7  Report  of  Deep  Waterway  Committee  of  Chicago  Commercial  Association,  June,  1906,  p.  17. 


BARROWS.]  SETTLEMENT  AND  DEVELOPMENT.  123 

doubtless  exert  a  wholesome  influence  on  railroad  charges  to  the  south. 
Furthermore,  the  traffic  in  question  is  for  the  most  part  in  bulky,  non- 
perishable  commodities  that  seek  water  transportation  because  it  is 
cheaper,  and  because  they  generally  constitute  through  shipments. 

(2)  The  Deep  Waterway  is  demanded  for  the  trade  of  the  northern 
interior  with  the  countries  to  the  south  and  across  the  Pacific,  a  trade 
which  will  reach  a  volume,  following  the  opening  of  the  Isthmian 
canal,  at  which  present  figures  but  vaguely  hint.  At  present,  goods  from 
the  upper  Mississippi  valley  destined  for  Mexico  frequently  go  by  way 
of  San  Francisco,  or  by  way  of  New  York.  Shipments  to  Central 
America  or  western  South  America  usually  go  by  rail  to  New  York, 
and  thence  to  Panama.  The  fact  that  such  goods  must  go  half  way 
across  the  continent  by  rail  to  tidewater,  imposes  a  heavy  handicap  upon 
the  merchants  and  manufacturers  of  the  middle  west  seeking  to  de- 
velop these  foreign  markets.1 

(3)  Such  a  Waterway  would  furnish  the  ship  yards  of  the  Great 
Lakes  with  an  outlet  to  the  sea.2  This  would  enable  them  to  build  vessels 
for  the  ocean  trade,  for  they  already  possess  unrivaled  advantages  in  the 
way  of  iron,  coal,  and  timber.3 

(4)  The  Deep  Waterway  would  enable  the  smaller  vessels  regularly 
engaged  on  the  Great  Lakes  to 'seek  winter  employment  in  the  coasting 
trade. 

(5)  Such  a  route  would  be  open  considerably  longer  each  year  than 
the  Great  Lakes,  or  any  Deep  Waterway  that  could  be  provided  leading 
eastward  from  them  to  the  coast. 

(6)  The  Deep  Illinois  Waterway  would  connect  the  largest  cities 
of  the  interior,  Chicago  and  St.  Louis,  and  increase  the  trade  between 
them,  which  recently  amounted  by  rail  to  but  little  over  a  million  tons 
a  year.4 

(7)  The  additional  supply  of  water  from  Lake  Michigan  necessary 
to  secure  a  depth  of  fourteen  feet  in  the  Illinois  river  (some  10,000 
cubic  feet  per  second)  would  create  a  great  amount  of  water  power 
(estimated  at  173,000  horse  power5)  in  the  upper  Illinois  valley,  where 
locks  and  dams  must  be  used.  Coupled  with  favorable  transportation 
conditions,  this  power  would  doubtless  lead  to  the  extensive  development 
of  manufacturing. 

(8)  By  drawing  widely  separated  sections  closer  together  commer- 
cially, the  Waterway  would  also  acquire  political  importance,  strength- 
ening the  political  ties  uniting  the  states,  and  cementing  friendly  rela- 
tions with  the  foreign  countries  to  the  south.  In  the  unlikely  event  of 
war  upon  the  northern  frontier,  furthermore,  the  smaller  boats  of  the 
navy  could  pass  from  the  Gulf  to  the  Lakes. 

It  is  evident  that  the  projected  Deep  Waterway  across  Illinois  will 
lie  of  national  importance,  for  its  benefits  will  not  be  confined  to  the 
immediate  section  through  which  it  runs..   They  will  extend  to  all  points 


1  Report  of  Deep  Waterway  Committee  of  Chicago  Commercial  Association,  June,  1906,  p.  31. 

2  House  Document  263,  59th  Congress,  First  Session,  p.  15. 

3  Report  Deep  Waterway  Committee  of  Chicago  Commercial  Association,  June,  1906,  p.  27. 

4  Idem. 

5  Report  of  Internal  Improvement  Commission  of  Illinois,  February,  1907,  p.  57. 


124  THE    MIDDLE    ILLINOIS   VALLEY.  [bull.  no.  15 

tributary  to  the  Great  Lakes,  the  Mississippi  and  its  navigable  tribu- 
taries, and  the  Gulf  Coast.  It  is  likely  to  be  the  most  important  link 
in  any  great  related  system  of  inland  waterways  which  may  be  de- 
veloped in  the  future. 

The  Deep  Waterway  will  be  a  principal  factor  in  the  future  economic 
history  of  the  middle  Illinois  valley,  which  will  be  benefited  quite  as 
much  as  any  other  district  along  the  lines  already  suggested.  A  de- 
velopment unprecedented  in  the  region  may  confidently  be  expected  in 
agriculture,  commerce,  and  manufacturing;  the  rapid  and  complete  ex- 
ploitation of  the  coal  deposits  will  be  brought  about;  and  the  now 
stationary  river  towns  will  be  restored  to  importance,  and  a  new  period 
of  growth  inaugurated.  With  the  Waterway  added  to  its  other  ad- 
vantages, Peoria  will  probably  find  it  easy  to  maintain  its  position  as 
the  second  city  of  the  State. 

It  should  be  remembered  that  the  Deep  Waterway  has  been  rendered 
possible  and  practicable  by  physiographic  processes,  and  that  all  the 
results  it  produces  will  look  back  to  those  processes  as  fundamental  in- 
fluences. 

Summary. 

The  salient  points  in  the  preceding  discussion  may  be  briefly  sum- 
marized as  follows:  (1)  Geographic  conditions  determined  the  fact 
that  the  middle  Illinois  valley  was  settled  first  and  slowly  by  south- 
erners, and  later  and  rapidly  by  northerners,  by  whom  its  life  was 
dominated.  (2)  The  early  settlers  were  distributed  with  reference 
to  geographic  features.  They  established  themselves  within  easy  dis- 
tances of  the  Illinois  or  a  navigable  tributary,  usually  avoided  the  un- 
healthful  flood-plain,  frequently  chose  terrace  sites,  and,  on  the  up- 
lands, clung  for  years  to  the  edge  of  the  timber.  (3)  When  the  wood- 
land was  taken  up,  new  comers  were  forced  out  upon  the  prairies.  They 
occupied  the  smallest  prairies  with  the  best  soil  and  water  supply  first, 
gradually  filling  them  from  their  margins  inward.  (4)  Geographic 
conditions  determined  the  occupations  and  mode  of  life  of  the  valley. 
The  settlers  were  forced  to  undergo  for  years  many  privations.  The 
growing  of  corn  and  the  raising  of  live  stock  were  the  leading  industries. 
Timber,  flour,  and  meal  were  among  the  pressing  needs  of  the  pioneer, 
and  flour  and  saw  mills  were  accordingly  among  the  first  improvements. 
The  marketing  of  produce  was  difficult.  At  first  the  Illinois  river  was 
the  only  outlet,  but  conditions  were  unsatisfactory  at  the  down-river 
cities,  and  active  wagon  trade  was  developed  between  the  northern  part 
of  the  area  and  Chicago.  (5)  Geographic  conditions  located  the  valley 
towns  and  determined  the  nature  and  extent  of  their  progress.  For  a 
variety  of  reasons,  Peoria  promptly  attained  leadership.  (6)  The 
river  was  a  great  commercial  highway  during  the  period  of  the  Illinois 
steamboat,  1835-1855.  Its  connection  with  Lake  Michigan  by  the 
Illinois  and  Michigan  canal,  made  possible  by  physiographic  processes, 
marked  an  epoch  in  the  history  of  the  valley,  and  modified  its  life  in 
important  ways.     (7)      Certain  disadvantages  in  the  navigation  of  the 


barrows.]  SETTLEMENT  AND  DEVELOPMENT.  125 

river,  for  the  most  part  geologically  imposed,  made  it  an  easy  prey  to 
railroad  competition,  and,  save  in  one  or  two  cases,  checked  the  growth 
or  inaugurated  the  decay  of  the  river  towns.  (8)  The  occupation  of 
the  great  prairies  back  from  the  streams  and  away  from  the  timber  was 
finally  permitted  in  the  decade  1850-1860  by  the  building  of  railroads 
and  the  introduction  of  modern  farming  machinery.  (9)  The  Illinois 
river  and  the  Illinois  and  Michigan  canal  continue  to  be  of  great  im- 
portance to  the  people  of  the  region  as  regulators  of  railroad  freight 
rates.  (10)  Geographic  conditions  led  to  the  early  development  of 
manufactures  throughout  the  region,  and  determined  their  character. 
Later,  they  gave  Peoria  high  rank  among  the  cities  of  the  United  States 
in  certain  industries.  (11)  Commercial  considerations  seem  about  to 
compel  the  extensive  improvement  of  the  Illinois  river,  and  of  its  con- 
nection with  Lake  Michigan.  This  projected  Deep  Waterway  is  likely 
to  be  one  of  the  largest  factors  in  the  future  economic  life  of  the  region, 
creating  new  activities,  and  stimulating  old  ones. 

In  conclusion  it  may  be  safely  said  that  geographic  conditions  have 
been  leading  factors  in  shaping  the  development  of  the  middle  Illinois 
valley. 


126 


INDEX. 


A 

Page. 

Aggradation,  definition 4 

Agricultural  conditions 118 

Abrasion,  definition 51 

Alluvial  fans 8,  61 

Artesian  wells,  conditions  for 20 

B 

Base-level,  definition 23 

Bed-rocks  of  region 16,  22 

Beer,  manufacture  of  at  Peoria 117 

Bloomington  ice  sheet 38 

Bluffs,  of  the  Illinois 12 

Bottom  lands,  settlement  of 76 

Braided  rivers,  described 40 

Bureau  county,  deep  wells  in 119 

Bureau,  gravel  pit  near 12 

morainic  topography  near 36 

well  at 20 

C 

Canal,  the  Hennepin 120 

Canal,  the  Illinois-Michigan 92 

competition  with  railroads 100 

development  of  project 92 

effect  on  New  Orleans 97 

influence  on  course  of  trade 97 

influence  on  railroad  rates 108 

Canal  transportation,  advantage  of 98 

Canal,  Wabash  &  Erie,  effect  of 97 

Carboniferous  rocks 16 

Chicago  Drainage  Canal 121 

Chicago,  effect  of  Illinois-Michigan  Canal  on  98 

Outlet,  the 47 

Sanitarv  and  Ship  Canal 121 

Chillicothe,' flood-plain  at 10 

gravel  pit  at 12 

history  of 105 

loess  near 48 

outwash  near 45 

rocks  near 16 

sand  hills  near 12 

settlement  of 87 

Cincinnati  shales ,  described 22 

Coal,  origin  and  character  of 18 

production  of  the  area 16 

Coal  Measures  described 20 

Cooley,  Lyman  E.,  acknowledgement  to.. . .  xn 

cited 10 

Corn,  products  of  Peoria 114 

yield  of  Illinois 114 

Creep,  definition 58 

Cross-bedding,  definition 17 

Crow  creek  valley,  settlement  of 76 

Cycle  of  erosion,  definition 23 

D 

Dams,  injurious  effect  of 106 

Decline  of,  river  towns 104 

water  commerce 99 


Page. 

Deep  Waterway 121 

Deep  wells  in  Bureau  county 119 

De  Pue,  history  of 104 

outwash  near 46 

settlement  of 87 

terrace  at 46 

Dip,  definition 20 

Distributary,  definition 62 

Devonian  rocks,  described 22 

Drainage  changes 62 

Drift,  foreign  derivation 25 

stratified 32 

Dunes,  described 51 

E 

Economic  importance  of  rocks 16 

Erosion,  conditions  affecting 51 

Cycle  defined 23 

F 

Farm  creek,  alluvial  fans  of 10 

Flood  discharge  at  LaSalle 4 

Flood-plain,  defined. 6 

of  the  Illinois 3 

lakes  of 55 

materials  of 6 

Flour,  manufacture  of 110 

mills  at  Peoria 81,  117 

Ford,  Governor,  work  for  Illinois  river 105 

Fossil,  definition 18 

G 

Galena-Trenton  limestone,  described 21 

Gimlet  creek 16 

Glacial  period,  described 25,  48 

Glaciation,  Illinoian  29 

Glaciers,  formation  of 28 

Grape  sugar,  manufacture  of 115 

Gravel  pits,  location  of 12 

Glucose,  manufacture  of 115 

Gro veland ,  morainic  topography  near 36 

ridge  near 14 

Ground  moraine,  described 32 

Gullies,  described 56 

H 

Hennepin ,  gravel  pit  at 12 

history  of 105 

settlement  of 87 

Hennepin  Canal,  the 120 

Henry,  drift  near 26 

flood-plain  at 10 

gravel  pit  at 12 

lock  and  dam  at 106 

outwash  near 45 

rocks  near 16 

settlement  of 87 


127 
Index — Continued. 


Page. 

Henry  county,  history  of 105 

Hick's  Hollow,  loess  in 48 

History,  recorded  by  rocks 19 

I 

lee.  work  of 29 

Illinoian  glaciation 29 

Illinois-Michigan  Canal 92,  97 

effect  on  Chicago 98 

tolls  and  tonnage 100 

Illinois  river,  aggradation  by 53 

character  of 3 ,  4 

difficulty  of  navigating 100 

effect  of  dams  on 106 

influence  on  railroad  rates 108 

plans  for  improvement  of 105 

steamboat  navigation  on 85 

Illinois  valley,  the 1 

Industries,  early  developed 109 

of  Peoria Ill 

Inter-glacial  epochs 34,  35 

Intermittent  streams,  definition 56 

Iowan  loess,  the 34 

K 

Kickapoo  creek,  deposits  of 10 

drift  along 32 

rocks  along 16 

L 

Lacon,  history  of 105 

terrace  at 46 

Lakes,  on  flood-plain 55 

ox-bow .'  55 

Lamarsh  creek,  deposits  of 10,  16 

Lamina,  definition 11 

Land  values,  affected  by  waterway 99 

distribution  of ' 119 

LaSalle,  flood  discharge  at 4 

Levees,  natural,  definition 6 

Leverett,  Frank,  acknowledgement  to xn 

Limestones,  description  of 18 

Devonian 22 

Galena-Trenton 21 

Lower  Magnesian 21 

Niagara 22 

Loess,  in  Hick's  Hollow 48 

Iowan 34 

near  Peoria •    28 

Wisconsin 48 

Lower  Magnesian  limestone 21 

Lumber,  cost  of 94 

M 

Mackinaw  river,  deposits  of 10 

Mantle  rock,  described 25 

Manufactures,  development  of 109 

Markets,  early 82 

Marquette,  rocks  near 16 

Maturity,  of  valleys 60 

Meat  packing  industry 109 

Moraine,  ground 32 

terminal 30 

Morainic  topography  near  Bureau 36 

near  Groveland 36 

Meyers  lake,  origin  of 44 

N 

Natural  levees,  definition 6 

Navigable  streams,  influence  on  settlement.  76 

New  Orleans,  effected  by  canal 97 

Niagara  limestone " 22 


O 

Page. 

Ohio  river,  profile  of 3,  4 

Old  age  of  valleys 60 

Overloaded  streams,  characterized 6 

Out-crops  of  rock 16 

Outwash,  near  Chillicothe 45 

De  Pue 46 

Henry 45 

Peoria 43 

Ox-bow  lakes ,  described 55 

Oxidation  of  drift 33 

P 

Peat,  origin  of 8,  19 

Pekin,  gravel  pit  near 12 

sand  hills  near 12 

Peneplain,  definition. 23 

Pennsylvanian  System 16 

Peoria,  brewing  interests  at 117 

drift  near 27 

early  history  of 84 

great  industries  of Ill 

"  Narrows  "  near 10 

mills  at 81 

outwash  at 43 

stratified  drift  near. 32 

well  at 8 

Peorian  epoch 35* 

Physiographic  features  of  the  region 1,  15 

Pioneer  life,  conditions  of 80 

Piracy,  definition 63 

Population,  early,  distribution  of 76 

influence  of  river  and  canal  on 99 

Post-glacial  changes 50,  63 

Prairie,  settlement  of 77,  107 

Pre-glacial  topography 33 

Princeton,  well  record  at 20 ,  21 ,22 

Profiles  of  rivers 3 ,  4 

Putnam,  well  at 20 

R 

Railroad,  competitor  of  canal 100 

influence  on  settlement 107 

rates,  influenced  by  waterway 104,  108 

Ridges,  clay 14 

River,  braided  character  of 40 

influence  on  railroad  rates 108 

profiles 3 ,  4 

towns  and  trade 83 

trade,  decline  of 99 

Rocks,  of  the  region 16,  22 

distribution^  out  crops 16 

economic  importance  of 16 

history  recorded  by 19 

influence  on  topography 16 

Rowe's  Hollow,  rocks  along 16 

S 

Sand  dunes,  described 51 

Sand  hills,  on  terraces. , 12 

Sandstone,  origin  and  description  of 17 

St.  Peters,  described  21 

Sangamon  epoch 34 

Sangamon  river,  character  of 28 

Salisbury,  R.  D.,  acknowledgement  to .xn 

Schmidt's  mine,  section  at 19 

Settlement  and  development  of  region 64,  124 

Shale,  Cincinnati 22 

Devonian 22 

formation  of 18 

Shelbyville  ice  sheet 36 

Slump,  definition 58 

Soils  of  terraces 12 

Spailand,  rocks  near 16 


128 
Index  — Concluded. 


Page. 

Spoon  river,  character  of 28 

Spring  Bay,  history 105 

Stages  of  valley  development 60 

Steamboat,  advent  of 85 

Stratified  drift 32 

Streams,  intermittent 56 

origin  of : 56 

piracy  of 63 

Striation,  definition 30 

St.  Peters  sandstone 21 

T 

Ten  Mile  creek,  alluvial  fans  of 10 

Terminal  moraine 30 

Terrace,  definition 11 

at  De  Pue 46 

at  Lacon 46 

development  of 40 ,  47 

influence  on  settlement 76 

materials  of 11 

Thenius  creek 16 

Till,  definition 33 

Topography,  pre-glacial 33 

Towns,  along  river 83 

decline  of 104 

inland 84 

Traffic  on  Illinois-Michigan  Canal 94-  99 

Transportation,  cost  of 71 

Transportation  by  water,  advantage  of 98 

Trenton-Galena  limestone,  described , 21 

U 

U.  S.  Geological  Survey,  acknowledgement 

to XII 

Upland,  the 13 

Utica,  rocks  near 20 


V 

Page. 

Valley  development,  stages  in 60 

Valley  of  the  Illinois 1 

Valleys,  orgin  of 56 

small 14 

Valley  train,  definition 39 

Values  of  land,  affected  by  waterway 99 

distribution  of 119 

W 

Wabash  and  Erie  canal,  effect  of 197 

Wabash  river,  profile  of 3 ,  4 

Water,  supply  of  region 118 

table,  definition 56 

work  of 53 

Waterway,  the  Deep 121 

as  regulator  of  railroad  rates 104 

Weathering,  definition 23 

Well  record  at  Peoria 8 

Wesley,  deposits  near 10 

rocks  near 16 

Whiskey,  manufacture  of Ill 

Wind  work 50 

Wisconsin  loess 48 

Woodland,  settlement  of 77 

Work  of,  ice 29 

water 53 

wind 50 

Y 

Yates,  Governor,  work  for  Illinois  river 106- 

Youth  of  valleys 60- 


